What is fintech? 

Fintech was once simply shorthand for financial technology (a portmanteau).

But in 2008-09 in the post financial crisis world, Fintech began to take on a whole new meaning.

The post 2008 world saw the emergence of thousands of start-up technology firms who realised that the old financial services customer loyalties were shattered and that new integrated business models were the future.

Traditional banks now had millions of customers who were demanding new service levels and who for the first time in history were willing to take their business elsewhere.

Spurred by new entrants attacking every part of their business from payments (Paypal) to accounts (Metro Bank, Atom Bank) traditional high street banks were forced to act.

Fintech firms build solutions on cloud, mobile, platform and data analytics platforms as elements of multi-level engagement with customers. Enhanced multi-channel engagement is at the heart of much Fintech research and development.

What makes Fintech interesting is how banks have engaged. Instead of being conservative technology users big banks realised they must provide online, mobile, banking across every product and build new customer engagement strategies to provide customers with end to end services from accounts, to mortgages, wealth management and insurance.

This meant that internal development wasn’t going to move fast enough or be agile enough to provide these new services in an omni-channel world.

Fintech began in payments and personal finance has also made advances in corporate banking.

But Fintech is not about attacking or replacing big banks. While it does help bring a new competitive landscape, it is the banks themselves which have also invested in fintech companies.

Global investment in fintech grew 67% to $5.3bn between January and March 2016, compared to the corresponding period a year earlier, according to a report released by Accenture.

Fintech companies in Europe and Asia-Pacific accounted for 62% of all investments in the first three months of 2016. Investments in these regions have nearly doubled in the quarter on an annual basis.

Accenture’s group chief executive Richard Lumb said: “The drive for fintech innovation is spreading well beyond traditional tech hubs.”