In the ever-changing landscape of Fintech, it’s fascinating to see how far we’ve come. Many would say this is an industry which has been established for some time and is now evolving, but in actuality this is an area that is still in its infancy. Remittance companies were the first to grow and now we are seeing the boom of niche ‘tech’ segments. We are yet to see the full potential of these niche segments and the impact they will have on society.
Investment in Fintech start-ups is booming, reaching a record $31 billion (£24 billion) in 2018, more than double that of the previous year. However the emergence of headline-grabbing cryptocurrencies is slowing down, creating a space for innovative and exciting new Fintechs to take up the mantle. Wealthtech, Lendtech and Insurtech are three areas that have been interesting to watch.
At Currencycloud, we’re ensuring we stay at the forefront of industry developments and are actively supporting these innovative niche sectors with our enterprise-class platform and payments & FX capabilities.
Evarvest for example, a Lithuanian start-up was created to make investing for the next generation as simple as having a smartphone and Wifi connection, are one of those companies that are shining in this space, using technology to remove barriers to the world’s largest stock exchanges. Evarvest have partnered with Currencycloud to power their solution. Stephanie Brennan, CEO at Evarvest, has said that ‘Currencycloud has been fundamental in reducing costs and providing a cross-border payment and FX solution. The API functionality fully integrates with our platform in a seamless manner, so we can support trading in international markets.’
Beyond these new up-and-comers, our historical support for big PSP’s such as Klarna, Payoneer, and Evaneos is unwavering. And we’re taking the next step to build partnerships, especially as open banking takes root.
The next big hurdle we expect Fintech to face is how do they scale-up globally and maintain regulatory cover. This is one area in particular where Currencycloud is looking to break down barriers. We are currently regulated in Europe, Canada, and the US and can offer start-up businesses the regulatory cover to go global, faster.
We work hard to service our clients and in turn enhance their customers’ user experiences, and I look forward to continuing to provide this high quality service as we watch where Fintech goes, and what sub-sets of Fintech ultimately succeed.