From artificial intelligence to cryptocurrencies, finance technology in 2018 will look much different from the past five years.
For the financial service industry, 2018 will present both challenges and opportunities.
The year of 2017 saw a good number of great innovations that have helped the financial industry improve and develop collectively. With external threats affecting competitive ability and the pain of innovation impacting profits, 2018 looks to be a year that will stretch the financial services industry. It’s time to foresee what is to come this year and consider which financial technology trends will have the most impact.
Here are three upcoming finance technology trends that will prevail in 2018:
Mobile Technology Mobilization
Though mobile technology isn’t new in the banking industry, it has now become a standard in terms of customer experience and ease of use. More people will increasingly rely on their smartphones and tablets to handle bank transactions, pay bills, and send money to family and friends. In fact, mobile payments in China has already exceeded $5 trillion annually. Globally, some studies project the mobile payment market’s total revenue to grow to over a trillion dollars. Hence, one of the top fintech trends to look out for in 2018 is innovation in mobile bank technologies.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Bank Automation
Artificial intelligence (AI) and bank automation may probably become the biggest banking trends in 2018. Artificial intelligence has pushed the banking industry by automating processes that in turn improve the customer experience. According to KPMG national financial services strategy and transformation leader, Mitch Siegel, “We see organizations beginning to greatly simplify processes through intelligent automation, which in turn helps to expose enterprise data that has been traditionally trapped in complex core systems,” implying that automation may likely become a prominent aspect of the financial industry in years to come. As AI continues to automate repetition in processes, banks will become more efficient. In 2018, AI may bring new innovations that will continue to improve the financial services industry.
Taking a deeper dive into bank automation, the industry saw some of the biggest growth come from PayPal. In the third quarter of this year, PayPal’s revenue propelled to an astounding $2.67 billion, bringing PayPal’s total valuation to approximately $50 billion. PayPal’s growth not only shows the industry’s ever changing landscape; it also shows bank automation’s potential growth and a financial industry trend that you should follow.
Cryptocurrencies May Continue to Conquer
Cryptocurrencies took over 2017, reaching over $300 billion in total value. With such a big splash, analysts believe that banks may begin to treat cryptocurrencies and other digital assets like traditional fiat currencies and derive over $1 billion annually from blockchain-based cryptocurrencies within the next two years.
The intense demand for cryptocurrencies may also pave the way for the rise of another trend: green friendliness. Mining for one of these digital gold nuggets requires a tremendous amount of electricity, more than the amount 159 countries use annually. As long as the demand for cryptocurrency lasts, 2018 may see greener fintech industry trends.
As technology continues to develop, the financial industry has no choice but to grow with it. Overall, it is crucial to know that in order to be successful, financial service firms must use the technology as it becomes available to them in new ways. Banks and financial institutions can use 2018 as an opportunity to set themselves apart from doing money as usual and ensure trust and confidence of customers.
