Digital Disruption in the Financial Services Industry: The Emergence of Fintech

Financial services, traditionally consisting of banking, asset management, lending, insurance, and payment systems, are facing a perfect storm brought on by technological innovation and shifting customer expectations. Such changes have exposed a gap in the financial services space between those who have access and those who do not. Traditional financial institutions have been hindered in pursuing strategies of financial inclusion to large underserved and underbanked populations. There is a major opportunity for financial technology companies to alter the competitive dynamics in an industry that has long been dominated by major banks and other large financial institutions. ‘Fintech’, as it is called, represents technology-enabled business models seeking innovation to drive more efficient process, use, and delivery of financial services to consumers (Mention, 2019). This paper explores the factors leading to the rise of fintech, its applications and the impacts it has had on the financial services industry in both the developed and developing worlds