5 Roaring Fintech Predictions and Trends of 2022, by MoneyLion
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fintech industry is experiencing a rapid growth period, thanks to the
contactless culture accelerated by the pandemic. An encouraging figure from CB
Insights[1]
reported that, as of Q3 2021, the fintech market garnered a record USD91.5
billion in global funding – that’s almost twice the total funding in 2020. With
that being said, the future of fintech is bright.
We’ve seen
the rise of more disruptive technologies across the fintech spectrum, from
contactless payment to Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and NFT. With all that afoot,
what can the highly anticipated fintech space expect in the coming year?
Trend #1 –
The rise of embedded finance and digital marketplace
The coined
term – embedded finance – refers to the integration of a suite of financial services
into a marketplace. It brings benefits to both consumers and businesses. For
customers, embedded finance means increased convenience and faster
transactions, as they can make a purchase without stopping by the bank to
access their money (Buy Now Pay Later is a good example here). Meanwhile, it
offers businesses additional sources of income, more customer data, and better
competitiveness of their products/services.
The
marriage between the digital marketplace and embedded finance could easily
revolutionise the fintech segment. They are the two faces of the same coin:
marketplaces supply engagement and rely on financial service features to
capture the demand, while the embedded finance supplies finance functionalities
and crave engagement as demands.
Many of us
use embedded financial services daily without noticing them. A report by Mambu[2] indicated
that the global opportunity for embedded finance is expected to reach USD7.2
trillion by 2030, and certainly, this trend shows no sign of slowing down
anytime soon.
Moving forward, financial institutions are expected to maximise the value of any platform by prioritising end-user convenience and stickiness while increasingly monetising engagement through third party features. We opined that, in this case, recommendation engines will rise to be a competitive advantage, to drive consumers’ awareness and consideration.
Trend #2 –
More regulator attention to data and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Data and
AI are the two most important elements in today’s digitised world. Financial
institutions need to compete in a hyperconnected world. The usage of data by
fintech compamies, in particular, provides significant consumer benefits,
including increasing access to credit for historically underserved
populations. However, the public should
understand how companies are using their data.
Data should also be protected against mistreatment. Therefore, in 2022, we can expect greater
attention and governance to data usage and privacy from the regulators.
But when
it comes to the regulation of AI, it is more complicated. The approach that
regulators adopt has to be divergent, to strike the right balance between
incentivising effective risk management while not clipping the wings of
innovation. We think it will take regulators some time to develop comprehensive
proposals – most likely in 2023 or later.
Trend #3 –
Decentralised finance in centralised fintech
One
another trend we need to keep an eye out for would be the adoption of Web3.
While Web3 is still a loosely defined term, we can understand it as the ‘future
of the internet’ which aims at building a decentralised version of internet-based
crypto/blockchain technology.
Its
decentralised nature might be the key for crypto to be accessible to the
mainstream marketplace. We’d expect to see an integration of Web3 features
(such as decentralised wallets like Metamask & Phantom) into a non-Web3
platform and marketplace, where cross border payments are facilitated by
crypto.
One recent
development is that the payment card network Visa has announced that
transactions can be settled using USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin powered
by Ethereum. Meanwhile, Mastercard is reported to be testing USDC for payments.
Trend #4 –
The future of crypto is in NFT
Since
we’re on the topic of crypto, we definitely can’t miss out on NFTs – one of the
buzzwords in 2021. We believe it fuels the next phase of growth of crypto.
NFT
represents unlimited potential. We’ve seen the intersection of NFTs and digital
artworks and lands – but this may only be the tip of the iceberg.
I’d like
to also see it from a different perspective: NFT transcends beyond a digital
asset, it ties with a sense of belonging through ownership. It can be a group
of like-minded folks wanting to share resources, it can be a private club, it
can be a fans’ club. Perhaps, one day, we might need to rely on NFT to prove
our identity.
Trend #5 –
Increased collaboration & expansion
As the
world rapidly shifts towards digitalisation, the battle among fintech companies
will accelerate. While the segment is far from saturated, it seems that
consolidation is one strategy for fintech players to sustain and grow.
2021
brought on more fintech mergers and acquisitions (M&A) than ever before. One
of the highlights could be big banks venturing into embedded finance through
acquiring fintech providers. We believe that the trend will continue in 2022.
For
instance, MoneyLion Inc went public on NYSE in 2021 through M&A and also
announced its plan to acquire Even, an embedded finance player, to complement
its growth strategy.
Conclusion
Looking ahead, the thriving fintech space is very much focused on convenience, protection and decentralised, and continues to present enormous opportunities in 2022. However, fintech players must be aware and leverage the right technology and market to capitalise on opportunities.