Banks and financial institutions offer tremendous value and convenience to their end-users. However, they are notorious for being prone to fraudulent attacks such as credit card identity theft. A lot has been done in adding layers of security to a person’s banking experience. Whether it’s two-factor authentication or OTP protected transactions, banks and financial institutions have come a long way in securing their customer’s transactions and account information. Banks, financial institutions, fintech enterprises have been benefitting  open APIs and fintech megatrends and applications while financial services industry  has been transformed.

RFID or Radio-frequency Identification is a security system that enables you to identify and track objects using electromagnetic fields. RFID technology is a powerful option when looking at identity verification, identity theft protection, biometric authentication, and more. These solutions ensure top-notch security and help customers protect their money and investments and enable banks and financial institutions to secure their assets and inventory. Plus, RFID technology helps boost the productivity of banks and financial institutions by automating numerous processes.

Maintaining anonymity on the internet and thorough identity verification is crucial to superior banking and customer experiences as well as identity theft protection. RFID technology provides biometrics identification, a revolutionary way of identity verification, and prevents credit card identity theft. This smart method of identification and authorization of transactions also enables end-users to experience a seamless banking process. You no longer have to get redirected to multiple online payment gateways for the transaction to be processed. A simple biometrics identification via RFID technology is enough to identify the user and authenticate the transaction.

Moreover, credit cards and debit cards embedded with RFID chips are immensely useful in speeding up the retail payment experience. One no longer has to wait for the cashier to swipe their cards, enter the PIN, wait for the authentication to take place, and the payment to then pull through. With cards embedded with RFID chips, end-users can tap their card on the payment machine, and the complete identity verification process takes place in under a second. You can then pick up your purchases and walk out of the store. These RFID chips maintain the anonymity of your details and prevent credit card identity theft and enhance the user’s payment experience.

Since RFID offers a quick and effective biometrics authentication method, it also smooths out multifunctional applications such as loyalty and membership. Loyalty points received on a particular transaction are effectively transferred to the user’s account without any separate process to be followed. Since identity verification has already been conducted using the RFID technology, we know that the loyalty points are deposited in the correct account. This identity verification also helps with membership processes. Any points to be redeemed or membership perks to being enjoyed can be quickly taken care of using this biometrics authentication process.

RFID technology has also given way to smart fitting rooms. As soon as the customer tries on a new shirt, the intelligent fitting room can let them know if the same shirt is available in a different color or size. It can also let the customer know if the brand is offering a discount or an offer. Moreover, the customer can also get outfit suggestions as to which pair of jeans would go well with the shirt, which brand offers such a pair of jeans in the store, and if it’s in stock right now or not. Smart fitting rooms also enable the staff to secure their assets well. People taking clothes into the fitting rooms won’t be able to steal them. Therefore, RFID technology helps reduce the chances of shoplifting.

Management of cash and other assets is crucial for a bank’s steady functioning and for the bank to provide a seamless banking experience to its customers. RFID tags on courier bags, cash, cheques, and more are a great way to keep track of them and ensure that the inventory is up-to-date. These RFID tags help monitor the movement and identification of each of these assets and ensure that no foul play takes place.

ATMs, vaults, cash sorter machines, and more are critical assets of a bank that need thorough protection. The RFID technology can be utilized here as well. The maintenance and regulatory compliance of all of these assets can be effectively managed with RFID tags. This way, the process doesn’t need to be carried out manually. These RFID tags not only help boosted usage of the resources but also give a boost to productivity. The RFID technology is slowly replacing the previously used barcode scanning method of maintaining inventory.

Badges, identity cards, computers, laptops, safety deposit boxes, and digital databases can be secured using RFID chips. Thus, via biometrics authentication, one can ensure that only authorized personnel have access to these assets. This way, banks, and financial institutions are not able to protect their physical and digital assets and establish robust access control. Still, they are also able to carry out efficient personnel tracking.

Since their establishment, legacy financial institutions and their methods have fared very well. However, with the evolution of technology and the adoption of digital transformation, the financial services industry has come a long way. When technology was fused with finance, the change was considered revolutionary enough.

New technologies like Cloud computing, Blockchain technology, Machine learning, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Communication, RFID technology, Biometric recognition, and several others are coming into the picture. It is crucial to learn how they are transforming the financial services industry and why they are beneficial for the end-users. Banks and fintech enterprises are benefitting from open APIs and fintech megatrends and applications can be further explored. Let us dive more in-depth and have a closer look at the top five technologies transforming the financial services industry.

RFID or Radio-frequency Identification is a technology using which digital assets (data) are encoded and then automatically identified using track tags. The RFID technology has become a crucially vital protection layer used by numerous financial institutions, payment providers, and central banks to safeguard their digital assets. RFID protection is being implemented to protect servers, sensitive and classified company and customer data, laptops, hard drives, and other equipment.

Using RFID security helps these financial institutions automate numerous inventory processes, keep track of their fixed assets, increase capital visibility, boost efficiency and productivity in asset management, and remove errors due to reduced human judgment. RFID system components are also being used by banks to safeguard courier bags in which hard cash or sensitive documents are transferred from one location to the other. Plus, RFID chips embedded in credit or debit cards can even allow customers to make payments by tapping the card without having to swipe it through or wait for systems to come online.

It has been quite a few years since machine learning and artificial intelligence have been associated with finances. These were among the first technology integrations to take place when it came to the financial services industry. Even though it has been an innovative step towards a transformed future, machine learning and artificial intelligence have a long way to go into creating something revolutionary and game-changing. However, both these technologies have still made quite a lot of difference in the scene.

Fraud prevention using biometric recognition is one of the most crucial advances provided by machine learning and artificial intelligence. Now, along with using OTPs and passwords, customers can also use their fingerprints or facial prints to add additional layers of protection. Artificial intelligence has also enabled financial institutions to carry out risk management and fund prediction, thus becoming essential financial tools for business decision making.

Another crucial application of artificial intelligence as financial tools is the utilization of Robotic Process Automation. There’s no hiding the amount of paperwork and manual processes that take place in a financial institution. These redundant yet essential processes can be taken care of by Robotic Process Automation. Whether it is the maintenance of regulatory documents, extraction of summaries from lengthy business documents, or collecting statistics and numeric values, Robotic Process Automation is a blessing. Plus, since these financial tools eliminate resource wastage and boost productivity, they not only serve as great financial tools to start a business but also as financial tools for business decision making

Cryptocurrency and Blockchain technology, in general, have been under a lot of scrutinies, especially from legacy financial institutions. However, people all across the globe are slowly and gradually adopting cryptocurrency. This has also caused several financial institutions to consider blockchain technology and use it as a sort of regulatory means because of its decentralized nature.

Shortly, blockchain technology is expected to further the cause of transformation of the financial services industry and be used to revolutionize digital and contactless payments, loan authentication and processing, escrow services, and more. Blockchain technology will also be crucial to automate numerous processes bound by regulatory compliance standards.

The most typical queries customers have related to financial services are, in fact, straightforward and repetitive. “How can I block my stolen credit card?” “How can I unblock my card?” “How do I access my online account?” “Where is the nearest ATM?”. “Where is the nearest bank branch?” “How can I start a fixed deposit?”. Instead of a human replying to them every time, conversational banking can help automate the replies to such questions.

By using artificial intelligence and machine learning to create Internet bots or Chatbots, financial institutions can do a lot. They can quickly answer the most simple and common customer queries, walk them through the complete registration process for a service, teach them how to make transactions or withdraw money, and even serve as advisors to track their budget and spending habits. This not only adds ease and convenience to the customer’s life but also optimizes customer experiences.

With increasing usage and flourishing trends of conversational banking as a personalized customer service assistant, the financial services industry will need to hire more neuro-linguists, AI programmers, and voice recognition experts. In the next few years, we’ll also be looking at developing hybrid AI-human models that will give enough control to Internet bots but also enable human agents to step in when required quickly.

Drop us a line at info@ndngroup.com to learn more about how our technologies help expand your business in the era of fintech.

Fintech has evolved considerably and changed rapidly in recent few years, impacting diverse industries of trading, banking, insurance, financial investment, wealth and asset management. Banks, financial institutions and businesses have proactively engaged with fintech applications. In the next few years, the rise of Contactless Payments, On-demand Insurance, Algorithm Trading, Robo Advising and Open Banking are major megatrends being unleashed in the era of Fintech.

Banks and fintech startups have utilized technologies like Blockchain, Data Analytics, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help speed up and automate transactions as well as reduce operational costs.

For instance, the deployment of Blockchain, a form of decentralized distributed ledger technology, provides a secure and efficient platform for storing and maintaining transactional data records. Once stored on the blockchain platform and verified through Smart Contracts, the transactions become immutable. As such. banks and fintech enterprises can safeguard customers’ data security and create efficiency from business operations.

Nowadays, businesses have become more customer-centric to stand their ground. It never has been more important to understand what target customers really want and know customers’ value.

Contactless payments are synonymous with cashless payments that do not require contact between the devices used in consumer payment and POS terminals by the merchant. Contactless payment systems are based on RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and NFC (Near Field Communication) technologies.

According to a recent Global Market Insights report, the increasing number of cashless transactions in emerging economies positively impact growth in the smart card market. The smart cards include a small microchip that processes and stores electronic data while securing data, assets, and identity. The global smart card market is expected to reach US$65 billion by 2025 with banking representing about 25%.

The NFC technology within contactless readers can interact with phones and connected mobile devices such as watches or rings. The contactless payment allows customers to simply wave their smartphone across the reader to complete transactions swiftly. Contactless payments are faster and more secure than the PIN technology as it transfers the encrypted data to the point-of-sale device instantaneously.
Currently, payments are enabled via secure contactless and mobile payment systems such as Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Fitbit Pay, or any bank mobile application that supports contactless.

Contactless payments are faster than cash and card transactions. Businesses have been focusing on offering superior customer experience and contactless payments will help achieve that. Customers show greater loyalty toward businesses which have embraced contactless payment technology.

Insurtech startups have embraced fintech innovations to impact the insurance industry. With Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, Insurtechs has leveraged data-driven insights to curate on-demand protection coverage that is customized and flexible for customers.

According to the recent World Insurance Report, 41% of customers said they are willing to purchase usage-based insurance and 37% explore on-demand insurance coverage. The report also showed 37% of customers are willing to share personal data in exchange for personalized coverage and better protection.

For instance, wearable devices and smartphone apps are increasingly popular with consumers and insurers, especially in healthcare and wellness space. Some devices can count the calories burnt during a workout and monitor customers’ heart rate and blood pressure. Insurtechs and startups have invested in developing the devices and wellness/health apps that allow customers to monitor their health. As such, customers can use the data to improve their health and fitness levels while insurtech can utilize the data to find out customers’ habits, preferences and offer customized insurance coverage.

With blockchain technology, insurtech startups have introduced simpler purchase processes and end-to-end automated claim management, thereby streamlining operations securing customers’ data privacy and making a purchase/ digital payment process user friendly.

With an agile operating model and digital innovations, insurtechs target potential profit pools and capture share among target customer segments. It is widely expected insurtech startups will increase the overall growth levels of the insurance industry and gain big market share.

Algorithmic trading is amongst the most talked about financial technologies in recent years. It has given trading firms more power in the rapidly evolving markets by eliminating human errors and changing the way financial markets operate.

Algorithmic trading can be applied in many forms of investment and trading activities such as commodity and foreign exchange trading by brokerage firms and investment banks.

Algorithmic trading uses computer programs to trade at high speeds and volume based on criteria, such as prices and specific market conditions. Devoid of human emotions, latency, technology-oriented, algorithmic trading executes trading commands accurately and instantly.

Algorithmic trading automates the trading process, ensuring that orders are executed at what are deemed to be optimal buying or selling conditions. The algorithms have the capability to analyze a variety of parameters and technical indicators in a second and execute the trade immediately. The increased speed on trading becomes important as the price movements can be captured by traders as soon as they occur.

Unlike traditional human-to-human financial advice, robo-advisors provide personalized and automated financial advice to customers based on algorithms.

Robo-advisors collects information from clients about their financial situation and future goals and then uses the data to offer advice and automatically invest client assets. Robo-advisors offer easy account setup, financial planning, portfolio management, and data security features, exceptional customer experiences and low fees. The main advantage of robo-advisors is that they are low-cost alternatives to traditional financial advisors.

Also, robo-advisors are available 24/7 and it takes significantly less capital to get started. In contrast, human financial advisors prefer high-net-worth individuals who need a variety of wealth management services and can afford to pay for them.

The future of robo-advising is bright. Robo-advising will be a tool used by nearly everyone, from financial advisors in wealth management firms to the average at-home retail investor.

Open Banking is a system that provides a user with a network of financial institutions’ data through the usage of application programming interfaces (APIs). With Open Banking APIs, banking data are available in real-time, providing consumers with better ways to conduct transactions and make investments.

Open Banking gives the benefit of choice to customers as they can select from multiple financial service providers available. It also empowers customers to take charge of their finances and manage their bank accounts.

Open banking APIs also enable service personalization to benefit customers immensely. Customers can now have access to multiple accounts in one place and enjoy the best deals available. It puts the power back into the hands of customers, enabling them to securely use third-party financial products and services that rely on banking data.

Meanwhile, Open Banking offers an excellent opportunity to fintech startups to meet the customers’ needs for new and better services such as personal finance management and access to credit services through a single application.

In conclusion, fintech has been used to automate insurance, banking services, financial investment, trading and wealth management. Fintech usage has risen significantly with an increasing number of players adopting innovative technologies to offer best-ever products and services to customers. The development of Contactless Payments, On-demand Insurance, Algorithm Trading, Robo Advising and Open Banking are the hottest trends in the era of Fintech.

Drop us a line at info@ndngroup.com to learn more about how our innovating technologies help expand your business in the era of fintech.