Is that the time of year again? Time for 2021 Fintech overview to talk about financial services industry trends and outlooks through the customer looking glass.
Over the years of COVID-19, the closure of physical bank branches triggered massive chaos for both traditional and non-traditional financial service providers. Since everything was vertiginous, neither they nor clients had any idea about what would come next. To be honest, even the most prestigious monetary establishments were caught offhanded. Then they realized that there is an urgent demand for fast, seamless solutions to make remote banking more functional and accessible for everyone including the ones that are not acclimatized to current trends.
“There is nothing permanent except change” – Heraclitus
The superpower of human beings is adaptation. We are all intertwined to be updated and aware of new developments in the environment we live in. History has repeated itself whereas our lives have evolved into pandemic-friendly happenings. Therefore, Fintech developers have created a plethora of spearhead technologies to sustain our financial needs in the new normal (!).
According to recent statistics, the number of online banking users has risen by 41% in the first half of 2021, and this reveals a significant hint: Consumers get used to utilizing online services more and more day by day. From an obtuse angle, we can conclude that 2021 was the Renaissance of the fintech industry. In addition to this prominent rise, New projects have stepped out from the developer laboratories. We have listed the comer Fintech trends in 2021.
- NFTs – Art can not be limited by pixels, or can it?
NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are charming and authentic digital assets, like artwork and sports trading cards. Being verified and stored through blockchain technology, NFTs are created, collected, and traded for millions of dollars. The amazing demand in NFTs is still fairly new, yet tremendous amounts of money have already exchanged hands among collectors in 2021. One of the most famous NFT artists, Refik Anadol, sold his last artwork, Machine Hallucination, for over $5.1 million.
On the contrary, experts are still distant to the idea of NFTs as a good investment and they recommend purchasing an NFT because you really want to own it like a spectacular painting, not to get in on the hype.
- Decentralized Finances (De-Fi) – Wear your invisibility cloak!
Since 2008, cryptocurrencies have penetrated our lives and Decentralized finances have never been so popular. As a result of mistrust of regulatory authorities and fiat currencies, many investors directed attention to the crypto market. It was known that prestigious associations have been investing in crypto techs for a while, yet, we have just started to new gigantic hedges on their official announcements. Plus, most popular e-commerce sites are planning to place cryptocurrencies among their payment methods soon. Do you think they are the first steps of Bitcoinization? Maybe!
- Autonomous Finance – Nothing surprises your computer anymore!
Just like we are made of atoms in physics, on the internet we are a group of algorithms. Have you ever wondered why Facebook shows you the mugs you love in ads? Automating the financial decision-making process with AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Machine Learning, our devices are giving millions of tips about us. Like it or not, your browsers know you better. Maybe even more than you know yourself. So Black Mirror-ish? No reason to freak out, because these technologies are also incredibly useful. For those who are not apt to search for offers, your browser will suggest the best payment programs for you or just warn you about upcoming utility bills. Furthermore, shortly, a computer code saving, spending, or investing our money is a quite realistic idea. We already have AI-driven personal finance and wealth management in our lives today, but they are not fully authorized yet.
- Digital Wallets – Non-Stop Digitization!
Enabling to store digital assets and operate money transfers domestically or internationally, digital wallets have kept on broadening among online shoppers. Increased security levels, hassle-free account creations, functionality, easiness, and low transaction fees of these applications have opened a new era where we changed our aspect of sending money abroad. Additionally, digital wallets, also known as e-wallets (electronic wallets), are programmed to recognize our voice tones, retinas, and fingerprints in 2021.
All in all, innovations of Fintech in 2021 take its power from ever-evolving technology and novelty. According to the latest research, investments in the Fintech sector have expanded to US$30.90bn significantly in the first quarter of 2021 itself. This amount is equal to the amount raised in 2020. Apparently, thanks to the foreseeing investors, a spectacular 2022 awaits us.
As the Jeton family, we have also worked hard to monitor every newly released trend closely in the sector in order to adapt them to our services. Join Jeton Wallet today, to experience the latest version of finances with more than half-million users worldwide!