FinTech investments around the globe reached $33.9 billion in 2019 — and the industry isn’t slowing down any time soon.
From supporting remote work environments to streamlining payment processing, FinTech has revolutionized the way people manage money. And it’s done so at the perfect time.
While the pandemic still continues to ruffle feathers worldwide, FinTech tools are helping businesses and households manage their money with ease.
Families can share budgets and allocate allowances directly in financial apps. Businesses can pay remote employees within a few clicks using money transfer tools. And everyday consumers can leave their wallets at home and use mobile payments to make purchases instead.
Let’s take a closer look into the world of FinTech — and which FinTech trends to watch out for in 2022.
What’s FinTech?
The term FinTech refers to companies and products in the financial technology sector. The term mostly relates to small startups developing innovative tech solutions in the finance world — though banks are jumping on the FinTech bandwagon, too.
While advances in FinTech continue to get increasingly more creative, the most common innovative solutions can be seen in areas such as:
- Big data
- Online and mobile payments
- Financial management
- Alternative finance
While FinTech is already a highly profitable industry, analysts believe we're still in the earliest stages of true FinTech. Since the future impact of IoT, cloud computing, blockchain, and artificial intelligence remains unclear, we don’t know which revolutionary advances will pop up in the distant future.
While we may not be able to look too far ahead, what we can do is give you a heads up for 2022.
Why are advances in FinTech important?
FinTech trends are reshaping the way the world manages financial transactions.
With FinTech, fast and efficient processes replace traditional, tedious ones. Payment processing crosses borders and allows for smoother international transfers. Personal financial management options increase, paving the way for more democratized solutions.
And everything in the business financial management world is streamlined, allowing for quicker, more efficient transactions.
In other words, FinTech solutions improve financial management on all sides. They speed up processes, remove information silos, and make it simpler for businesses and consumers to manage money.
As advances in FinTech continue to rise, the entire world will begin to approach and manage money differently.
Now that we’ve laid the groundwork for FinTech, let’s take a look at seven exciting FinTech trends to be on the lookout for in 2022.
1. Remote-friendly banking options will become a staple
It’s no secret that the working world has pivoted to hybrid and remote working environments.
From content marketing agencies to customer service teams to sales teams, 56% of employees have jobs that they could do from home at least part-time.
With 5.7 million employees in the United States working remotely before the COVID-19 pandemic even began, and that number has only been rising since, the FinTech industry will continue to launch new remote banking options in 2022.
More neobanks, made famous by N21 and ing.com, are on the horizon, along with a variety of payment transfer services. Watch out, Wise and Zenefits — you’re getting competition.
Accounting and bookkeeping will also see advancements as companies look for faster ways to manage company assets online.
In the end, we’re expecting digital banking to reshape the centralized, traditional banking model into a more distributed, technology-driven one.
2. FinTech content marketing will increase
Content marketing services for financial tech companies will be on the rise as advances in the industry increase.
FinTech companies rely on content marketing to get the word out about their new products. By establishing a solid inbound marketing strategy, FinTech companies can get their products in front of more eyes while simultaneously raising their authority score with Google.
In other words, creating content with the purpose of generating leads will be a major priority for FinTech companies in 2022.
In 2022, be on the lookout for more content catalogs, webinars, and articles specializing in FinTech content. We also expect to see more masterclasses, programs, and courses dedicated to sharing FinTech education.
3. Wealthtech advances are on the rise
Companies specializing in WealthTech advancements pose a major threat to banks and wealth management firms alike. As WealthTech continues to improve, institutions that can’t keep up with new technologies may be at risk of collapse.
In other words, in 2022, banks and wealth management firms will need to rethink their approach to stand a chance at competing with WealthTech startups.
For reference, funding in the WealthTech sector reached over $20 billion in 2021 — and we’re expecting an increase in 2022.
Advances in WealthTech are plentiful and include products and services such as:
- Robo-advisors
- Robo-retirements
- Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- New investment tools
- Digital brokers
- Online banking
Trading apps will also have a tremendous impact on WealthTech, with platforms like Robinhood and Etrade enabling traders to impact entire market segments.
WealthTech will also become more mainstream as younger generations discover more flexibility with finance and investing apps.
4. Payroll FinTechs will continue to make their mark
Paying employees is a slow and cumbersome process — not to mention expensive. But with payroll FinTechs like BitPay, Deel, and PayActive, companies can streamline payroll and save money during the process.
With FinTech integrating its way into every department companies have, payroll FinTechs will leave an even greater mark in 2022.
With fully digitized payroll, we’ll see a full host of benefits, including:
- Real-time payments and payment tracking
- Salary advances and adjustments
- Crypto payment options
- Faster payment processing with one-click payments and instant payments
- More precise payment tracking
- Employee reimbursements and credits
- Bill management features
5. Voice-enabled payments change everything
Though online banking used to just offer simple features like balance checks and savings transfers, in 2022, online banking will be an entirely different beast.
With advancements in voice-enabled payments, making purchases and paying bills will no longer be tedious or frustrating transactions.
Voice-enabled payment features might sound risky, but we’re quickly learning how much businesses and consumers alike trust them.
Help bots supporting voice-enabled transactions will also see tech advances in communication processing and responses. As improvements in natural language processing, understanding, and generation continue to make strides, bots will take on a more humanized communication approach.
With advances in communication like this, interacting with help bots will feel like you’re speaking to a real bank teller. Humanizing these transactions poses a major advantage to financial institutions offering voice-enabled payments.
Banks and financial institutions interested in grabbing a slice of the market share will need to find helpful ways to integrate voice-enabled features into their online portals.
6. Cross-border payments set to become simpler
With the rise in global e-commerce, trade, crypto game and investments, cross-border payments are becoming more rampant — and more important.
But the problem with cross-border payment systems is that they’re inefficient. And sometimes, they pose significant risks, like money loss or theft.
Cross-border transactions are challenging because they mainly exist in obsolete systems. Different data exists in each jurisdiction with a low level of competition in the field.
In other words, there’s been a lack of transparency regarding cross-border payments for years. Some operating systems seem to have no rhyme or reason behind their glitches and money losses. And communication between multiple payment portals has been complicated at best.
But the future of cross-border payments is looking bright. As we transition into a more nomadic world, more players will show up on the market to streamline cross-border transactions.
And with the explosion of e-commerce, managing smooth international transactions will be higher on the priority list. With consumers and businesses expecting simpler payment solutions, streamlined cross-border payments will follow suit.
In other words, be on the lookout for better communication systems, faster and simpler processing, and more transparency in this sector.
7. Competition becomes an opportunity
FinTech is accelerating at a rate many businesses can’t keep up with. But instead of feeling threatened by innovative startups, financial institutions are starting to see collaboration as the silver lining of these new advancements.
One of the biggest trends we’ll see as a result is a move toward working together instead of competing against one another.
In 2022, be on the lookout for more innovative collaborations and partnerships in the FinTech world.
Wrap up
Global FinTech investments reached $33.9 billion in 2019 — and the industry isn’t stopping there.
From supporting remote workers to streamlining money transfers, FinTech is revolutionizing the way people manage money.
Though the pandemic remains a concern, FinTech tools are rising up to help companies and households improve their finances.
In 2022, FinTech will see endless improvements and new trends, including the ones we shared today.
Are you surprised by any of these FinTech trends? Leave a comment below to let us know what you think.
About The Author
Brad Smith is the Founder of Codeless (a content production agency) and CEO at Wordable.io. His content has been highlighted by The New York Times, Business Insider, The Next Web, and thousands more.
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