“Finance rules the world, but soon technology will rule finance.”
It may not feel like it but we are all part of a financial revolution. From online shopping, to comparing phone contracts, to paying with contactless or Apple Pay, these activities we do without thinking twice are part of the fintech revolution disrupting traditional financial and banking industries.
What is the fintech revolution?
A combination of the words ‘financial’ and ‘technology’, fintech is the term used to refer to innovations that marry finance with tech to improve financial services.
Although the term is relatively new, in one way or another, fintech is already at the heart of many of the technological developments we all use everyday.
For students, fintech isn’t innovative at all. Many already pull out their phone daily to pay for a coffee or use a brightly coloured debit card attached to their digital bank that has a playful name. The old ways of the financial sector – cheques, cash, filling out multiple forms – are fast becoming ancient and unwelcome.
Each student cohort is more digitally savvy than the last and today’s students are more than happy to allow technology to do the heavy lifting for them. In fact, when it comes to financial technology, convenience is key. Take the financial support application process for example; we asked students what matters most to them and 64% answered being able to do everything online (our Funds Management System does just this!).
Is the shift towards fintech a good thing?
Fintech helps us to move money faster, save on certain costs, and enables greater personalisation. In essence, it makes many daily tasks that bit easier and no one’s going to say no to that.
But the change is coming at a rapid rate and that can be both disconcerting and overwhelming. Not to mention potentially dangerous when not understood or adequately educated.
Fintech is the future and the future is bright but like all change, we need to manage our expectations and ease into this new world step by step.
This is one of the many reasons why we believe that financial education is key in the fintech revolution. We may not be able to control the speed of change but we can take control over what tools we engage with, how they can benefit us and, importantly, how to protect ourselves.
Learn more about what fintech can offer the higher education sector specifically and find out about how we’re bringing fintech to the sector with our Funds Management System and Instant Payments function.
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