Technology has found a way to make an impact in various aspects of our lives, and finance is not being left out of that equation. That is why we have various start-ups with the aim of disrupting the finance industry – and they are doing just that.

Likewise, banks are getting in on this movement in droves. That would explain how they have made measures to ensure they can offer value-based services to customers by leveraging technology.

With that, the question is begged – just how much does technology contribute to financial management?

Contributions of Technology to Finance

In more ways than one, if you ask us. Rather than let the sentiments talk, though, we would rather the points speak for themselves.

1 Speed

One thing about money is that people want it fast, whenever they do want it. However, the old banking model does not support that.

These people will have to join long queues in the bank before they can make a withdrawal or deposit. The same goes for when customers are looking to lodge a complaint with the bank – leading to an increased bitter experience for the said customer.

Fintech takes all that out of the loop.

Thanks to online (website or app) access to accounts, payments can be made without having to go get cash first. Customers also get to lodge their complaints online and get real-time assistance, rather than having to go into the bank at all times.

2 Resources Allocation

Following the point above, banks used to have to employ an insane number of tellers and open diverse branches in different locations just to meet the needs of their customers. That does not include the customer care reps they would have to put on the payroll just to deal with complaints from customers.

Now, they can cut back on those fronts and effectively focus on other aspects of the banking process. Afterall, many of the above – from making deposits to lodging a complains – can now be done without even having to enter the banking halls at all.

3 Better task distribution

Many will argue that the above point puts people out of work, but the reverse is the case. An average banker is made to work at the counter, collecting deposits and handing out withdrawals to customers who come in. The truth is that this average banker is trained for much more but that is what they have to contend with.

If they didn’t have that to worry about, though, they get moved to a sector of the banking and finance institution where they can put more of their skills to good use. This provides a better task distribution and more efficient use of resources by the banks. That, and we have not mentioned job satisfaction on the part of the banker.

4 Anonymity

Perhaps, one of the biggest wins of the tech sector in finance for this century comes in the form of anonymity of payments. With options like bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the loop, people can now make payments for stuff without it ever showing up on their records.

Besides being a great way to pay anonymously via a decentralized system, they also serve as a store of value to some, which is more than we can say for many failing currencies in the world.

The Concerning Points About Fintech

After all said and done, it would be poor not to expose the regions where fintech leaves itself, well, exposed, too.

As is with anything that relies on technology to work, the biggest challenge being faced in the fintech industry is from cyber breaches. With 65 of the top 100 banks in the US failing web security testing in 2017, it becomes even scary that these attacks could happen any day.

If this is saying one thing, it’s that you should take the security game into your own hands. Personally, we recommend:

• Setting secure passwords: This is a no-brainer for keeping your accounts safe. Your password is the first point of call, so you should ensure it is as strong and secure as it can be. Likewise, ensure the password is unique and not used for any other account
• Encrypt your connection – Whenever you are connecting to your banking apps and platforms, never do so via an unencrypted connection. This just makes it easy for a hacker to intercept your internet traffic and gain access. In the spirit of encrypting your internet connection, always stay away from public Wi-Fi networks
• Enable two-factor authentication – If your internet banking or financial platform supports it, 2FA doesn’t hurt one bit. Even if the hacker had access to your password, that would not be enough to get them into your account.
• Check activity logs – The activity log of your website is a good place to look at whenever you log in. That informs you of attempted/ successful logins, and from what devices. This keeps you on your toes to know if anyone has been trying to access your account without your knowledge.