Finance and technology have merged to create a new beast — FinTech — which has a growing presence in our daily lives and has the power to disrupt the traditional financial services industry. As tech PR professionals, it’s important to stay ahead of the trends shaping this evolving industry, including the power of millennials in driving market change. Below are four trends to keep you ahead of the curve in all things FinTech.
1. Focus on Millennials
As the largest generation in American history, millennials have been a disruptive force in nearly every industry and are quickly becoming a major target for FinTech companies. Millennials are a prime candidate for FinTech adoption – having grown up in the digital era, they generally trust technology but distrust traditional banking, as their younger years were shaped by a major recession and many entered the workforce with extensive college debt.
According to the Millennial Disruption Index, 73 percent of millennials reported that they would be more excited about a new offering in financial services from the likes of Google, Amazon, Apple, Paypal and other similar organizations than their nationwide bank.
2. New Style of Banking
As millennials continue to garner wealth, banks managing their wealth will experience a push for change. The traditional processes of managing money, day-to-day financial transactions and banking fees will shift and create a more competitive industry. Traditional banks will need to address consumers’ demands, and this will lead to change in a number of areas, including lending and financing, payments and transfers, wealth and asset management, markets and exchanges, and insurance.
Robo-advisors will also change the way users invest by leveraging algorithms to invest automatically. What’s more, compared to humans, robo-advisors tend to be less expensive by as much as 0.5 percent, according to a Business Insider Intelligence report.
3. Mobile Banking
Mobile banking has also become an ever-present force shaping the industry. Many banks have already created mobile apps that allow users to access and manage their accounts on the go. Millennials have proven the importance of mobile payment options, with 44 percent preferring to pay with a mobile phone, as reported by JWT. The success of FinTech players and traditional banks will depend on their ability to innovate and leverage the capabilities of smart devices.
4. Staying Secure
Across industries, a great deal of concern has been placed on security—and rightfully so. Within the financial industry, the demand for security will be heightened as FinTech deals with sensitive information, including account details and social security numbers. Thus, the growth of FinTech will need to be closely correlated to increased security.
5. Wearable FinTech
With the majority of the FinTech industry geared toward mobile apps and millennials, many companies are setting the pace by keeping up with the latest technology. As we look into the future, wearables are the next stop. With millennials being more than two times more likely to adopt new and emerging technology, as reported by Barkley, wearable technology is sure to leave a mark on FinTech in the near future.
As these trends develop and shape the industry, it’s important for PR professionals to keep apprised of what is two steps ahead and around the corner. Daily media monitoring, coupled with trend jacking, will help you capitalize on the latest news to create opportunities for your clients.
For FinTech startups working to break through the noise and garner top media attention, it’s important to stay up to speed on the FinTech industry chatter and monitor for what’s new to stay ahead of the game. In order to succeed, FinTech companies will need to listen closely to the needs of their biggest market segment – Millennials.
