What do Emerging Technologies really mean for Financial Services?

With the pace of the changes occurring around us, our technology is also evolving constantly, trying to catch up with the changes. When we take a step back from our daily schedules and look back to what our life was like, back in the early 2000s as compared to now, one major factor that comes to everyone’s minds is technology; how we went from surviving on 1 GB data and WiFi speeds for months, to today’s world of 5G internet and living our lives virtually. Something else that has also been impacted is Financial Services.

Before we opened up our country to the globe, banking was a system for the Elite. Our rulers, the Britishers, made sure that we were deprived of basic amenities like banking and insurance. The industry only served the foreigners and the extreme rich segment of our nation. The financial sector in India was then largely unorganised and run locally by the residents of an area to help and support their peers. Fast forward to the 1990s when India welcomed the LPG model, allowing private players to enter the banking and financial services sector, banking was now something that was more accessible and did not function on the grounds of racism. Not only was the reach widened, but private players brought what changed our Financial Services sector’s face: Technology.

With every passing year, the services offered by the sector gave rise to a better, quicker and more efficient way of undertaking activities. From waiting in long queues to withdraw money using payslips to cheques, cheques to ATMs and payment solutions like UPI now. Technology has not only changed the way we manage our finances, be it personal or commercial; but has also brought forth an opportunity to the extent these services to the remote, underbanked locations of our country. In times like today, where most of us are locked inside our houses, we face almost no difficulty in undertaking our daily activities, meeting our payment obligations, receiving money; all thanks to technology. Digital Payments, Payment Gateways, Mobile Wallets, Mobile Banking, Finance management softwares, Prepaid cards, Insurance services have made things possible for us, even amidst a global pandemic. Aadhar Enabled Payment Systems (AePS), MicroATMs have all contributed to the well being of those who reside in the underbanked areas of our nation.

We now have technologies like blockchain technology that enables us to ensure payments are done fast and done right. They did not just ensure speed and accuracy, but also security. We now have a whole industry that revolves around combining technology with financial services: the Fintech industry. This industry is now thriving by developing new ways to make financial services available to all, powered by world-class technology.

Put in simple words, technology has become the centre of our lives, from the time we wake up, to the time we fall asleep, we are using some kind of technology, big or small. Financial Services is the source of what fuels our lifestyle: money, ought to be influenced by the ever-emerging and evolving technology. It has changed the face of the industry earlier and by all means, will continue doing so.