To understand just how quickly technology can transform industries, look no further than financial technology companies.
In a few blinks of the business world’s eyes, fintechs have gone from disruptive outsiders to now being a foundational part of the broader financial services environment. And in the process, they’ve helped rewrite the industry’s playbook on everything from digital payments to faster and cheaper services such as stock trading, consumer loans, and more.
But that rapid, technology-fueled ascent is exactly why now is not the time for fintech companies to take a victory lap. The swift growth has intensified competition from companies that do a lot of the “other things” better, including being more in tune with customers and delivering world-class consumer experiences.
With apps increasingly serving as the entry point for services, the market for financial services has opened to nontraditional competitors. This paradigm shift signals a potential threat to the dominance of banks and other financial services companies, some of whom risk becoming back-office providers to major consumer technology brands.
Which begs the question: What’s next for fintech?
We believe the future of fintech belongs to organizations that can master data from across the enterprise—front to back office—to drive their decision-making. By staying agile and adjusting to the demands of an increasingly connected technology ecosystem, fintech can shrug off new competitors, boost customer experience, and meet higher expectations on privacy, security, and reliability.
In other words, fintech companies need to keep innovating, widen their lens, and become more fully connected enterprises that can continue to drive swift transformations, as we detail in our new report, “Financial services in a connected ecosystem: The future of fintech.”
