Fintech For Good
One way to illustrate how financial inclusion drives economic growth is by tracking impact on the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Several reports from international organizations such as UNCDF, World Bank, WEF have demonstrated how digital finance can change the lives for many when delivered responsibly at a global scale. Due to the pandemic, the role fintech can play is even more vital as it can help with economic recovery and it can help mitigate some of the major setbacks in the progress that many countries were making towards reaching several SDGs.
Fintech-The Great Enabler of the Next Industrial Revolution
When compared with other contenders of the industrial revolution, one could argue that fintech is a gateway for all emerging technologies, the conduit towards financial inclusion and paving the way towards building a revitalized post-pandemic economy. Stakeholders within the fintech ecosystem need to collaborate and develop legal and regulatory frameworks that are harmonized with the pace of technological development. Only by fully leveraging the benefits of a hyperconnected world can we rebuild a strong economy that is resilient and sustainable.
As a society, we must continue to invest and promote innovation in the fintech space, while at the same time focusing on building a culture of ethics and maintaining a social impact mindset so future generations can look back at the major accomplishments achieved within this current industrial revolution era.
Digital Identity- A Fintech Catalyst
The fintech industry is widely regarded as a major driver for financial inclusion and establishment of digital identities, however one could also argue that the global effort to create digital identities acts as a catalyst for the proliferation of neobanks, large scale mobile payments adoption and digital currency utilization.
The Fintech Trifecta: 5G, Blockchain and AI
Numerous technologies are in the race to play a center stage role in building a state of the art global fintech ecosystem. Industry experts agree that there are a few candidates who can markedly accelerate this process and potentially even lead to large scale fintech adoption globally. In this article we propose that the optimal fintech trifecta includes: 5G, Blockchain and AI.
Quantum Computing- A Pathway to Exponential Fintech Adoption?
By deploying quantum at a larger scale within the fintech ecosystem it is foreseeable that quantum technology can become a major catalyst for adoption of fintech solutions globally.Fintech lies at the crossroads of exponential technologies and has been identified by the World Economic Forum and the World Bank as one of the major drivers of economic recovery. The WEF Global Future Council on Quantum Computing has recently laid out the future trends and highlighted how this new technology can transform multiple industries. The global impact on economic growth can be optimized by optimizing digital and financial inclusion, as well as fostering the development of an exponential economy where cross- and inter-disciplinary silos are overcome.
Ethical Leadership In The Fintech Era
It has become evident that exponential adoption of fintech and ongoing innovative forces will require a sustainable digital ethics culture in order to prevent potential violations of trust, integrity, digital privacy, digital ownership etc. Fintech leaders should be appropriately concerned about general ethical issues, as well as those unique to the fintech ecosystem. Reactive or mitigation approaches are not an optimal solution and one would hope that ethical leadership in the fintech industry will be marked by state of the art strategic planning and a careful tactical deployments. A great quote that illustrates the importance of creating a robust ethical governance infrastructure within the organization was by Alfred Einstein who stated “ relativity applies to physics, not to ethics”.
The Path Towards Creating A Sustainable Global Fintech Ecosystem
The Global Fintech Ecosystem of the future will hopefully be characterized by an increased financial diversity, financial inclusion, optimized digital fluency, enhanced socially responsible capital deployment, robust digital ethics programs and a human centric design. Only by investing in disruptive innovation and digital transformation, can the Global Fintech Ecosystem remain a key driver of the global economy. It is essential to collaborate with all other key players to further harmonize laws, regulatory guidelines or policies in order to facilitate a large scale adoption of state of the art financial technologies and financial instruments.
Design Thinking In Fintech
Fintech is one of the industries that has the potential to be a leader in forging the path to success in the post-pandemic era, as it had already embraced digitization and virtualization at a higher degree than other industries. Certainly, there are numerous hurdles to overcome and pitfalls to avoid, however with a state of the art strategic plan and a design thinking approach it would be possible. Certainly, design thinking is only one option in the portfolio available to business leaders. However. due to the emphasis on user experience and outcomes defined by stakeholders, its ability to empower diverse teams within a complex fintech ecosystem and a process that encompasses an ongoing innovative loop it is this author’s opinion that design thinking should be considered as a methodology of choice during this crisis and beyond.
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