The COVID-19 global pandemic has shaken up the global order and forced us to rethink how functional the institutions that we relied on so much on before really were truly worthy. The pandemic has plunged many industries into a crisis, which might turn out to be detrimental to their future.
Many industries are struggling to adapt to the new reality that the pandemic has created, with people scrambling to adjust to working from home, while others who have no choice but to go to work put their lives at risk.
When the traditional financial institutions and ways of conducting business are tested and even their legitimacy is put under question, the financial technology field, or fintech for short, has emerged as a star as the world embraces long-term effects of the recessive economy and completely destroyed.
Experts are already estimating that those who won’t adapt quickly to the new reality and focus on utilizing technology to get by, will likely not be able to make it on the other side to the post-COVID world.
The global rise of fintech
To better understand its relevance in the world ravaged by the novel coronavirus, we should first define what fintech is.
In short, fintech encompasses the technology and innovation that seeks to compete with the conventional forms of financial services. Good examples of this emerging industry that uses technology to improve financial activities are the usage of smartphones for mobile banking, investment services, and cryptocurrencies.
Companies working in the fintech industry can be both startups and well-established institutions and tech companies seeking to enhance the user experience and even completely replace the existing financial service delivery.
All these advancements make it easier for the general public to access financial services. Considering that most countries are currently in lockdown, the demand for fintech services has grown rapidly.
Various new studies show that since the lockdown has begun, the usage of crypto and FX trading has increased significantly. As people have more time on their hands, they’re deciding more and more to get into FX trading and get their feet wet in the crypto world. This list of best Ugandan Forex brokers shows that even countries that don’t have the strongest economies are emerging as FX trading hotspots.
Contributors to the fintech demand
Currently, worldwide, most people remain at homes, whether it’s under the government order or voluntary self-isolation, there has been a great surge in demand for fintech products as people fear going outside because of the COVID pandemic. There are different areas of fintech that have come forward to aid people and companies in making their lives easier by offering a variety of online services.
Online banking has been around for a long time now, but as people are staying at home, the demand for online banking services has been greatly increasing lately. As people are avoiding going outside as much as they can, this prompted the banks to search for new ways to go completely online and even offer their customers to open accounts from the comfort of their home.
Additional banking service that has enjoyed attention during the global pandemic is contactless paying, as most businesses are trying to limit user’s offline contact as much as possible. As many countries warned their citizens of physical cash possibly spreading the virus, VISA and MasterCard have doubled their contactless transaction limits, so the users won’t have to manually enter their pins.
Online sales have also been booming since the pandemic broke out. This forced many retailers to completely rethink their strategies and quickly adapt to online sales if they hadn’t had done so in the past. This prompts online e-commerce websites to expand so they can accommodate the increased demand. Many people aren’t even leaving their homes to get groceries and completely shop online now.
No matter how the pandemic situation will develop, the changes that the coronavirus has brought about will forever change how customers shop and how businesses operate. Even if there is a vaccine close on the horizon, breaking the habit of shopping exclusively online will be hard for the most. Therefore it should be vital for companies to develop sound online marketing strategies and make sure that they’re delivering top-notch services to their customers.
However, going completely online has its risks. With more and more people seeking to get products and services online, there’s a higher risk of them getting scammed, or having their information stolen. Therefore it is not enough to just adapt and deliver services online, but the companies should be proactive in trying to protect the data of their customers.
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