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This report highlights a handful of fintech innovators from around the globe. It defines the fintech landscape, presents recent trends, and helps understand how fintech can revolutionize the financial industry and, in particular, Islamic finance.


Publisher: CFA Society Pakistan

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Overview

The word ‘fintech’ has been created by melding two well-understood words: ‘Fin’ refers to financial services and ‘tech’ pertains to technology and the specialised software or hardware designed for a particular use. Fintech itself is the application of technology for the delivery of financial services across any channel. Financial applications now run on all forms of hardware, ranging from mobile phones, computers or tablets, kiosks, and even smartwatches. The deployment of technology in the delivery of financial services has been revolutionary and has increased access to services, reduced operating costs, improved efficiency, and delivered customer ease and convenience at a fraction of the previous price

Today, fintech incorporates a broad spectrum of technology that is being used to deliver services ranging from digital banking, online insurance, crowdfunding, cryptocurrencies, and the online trading of financial instruments, to name a few. This landscape continues to evolve across the globe and is seeing unprecedented innovation, as regulators create a safe environment for experimentation. If one word can describe how fintech has impacted traditional financial services, it is ‘disruption’.

APAC consumers have experienced fintech innovation at the hands of large banks in the first wave of technology adoption, where significant developments in payments increased the velocity of money around the world. This was followed by the rise of fintech startups that looked to innovate mostly around new channels for distribution and engagement. While fintech startups have continued to mushroom across the APAC region, there remains significant scope for fintechs to take on many traditional areas of financial services that have not yet experienced disruption. New technology may, at times, also come with new business models. There is much that APAC fintech practitioners can learn from one another, but also from implementable ideas that are scaling around the world.

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ARX Editorial Team

Senior Director: Scott Lee
Project Manager: Natalie Yiu
Coordinator: Christy Leung

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