After decades of stagnation, fintech is like a magic pill for the industry. We increasingly visit offline banks, pay with smartphones at the cash registers, turn to intelligent bots which can clearly tell about loans and seemingly difficult investments. Let's take a closer look at the fintech of 2021 and see what exactly is happening in it now and what changes await us.

#1. Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay

The trend towards the use of mobile payments can be fueled by many different reasons, we will name only the main ones: the active introduction and promotion of modern POS terminals by banks, the massive need for contactless payments in the context of COVID-19, and the traditionally high average technical literacy of the world population.

Payment systems from Apple, Samsung and Google feel great in the software of various companies, where there are transactions with funds. Their support has long been in the "apps" of all mobile operators, all leading aggregators of taxis and delivery services, as well as the largest retailers of household appliances, electronics and clothing. The reality is that in 2021 the owner of a not too old smartphone on iOS or Android can buy most of the goods using tokenized cards with one touch or one “look”. This trend will only persevere in the future, and we will completely abandon paper money.

#2. Developing new services with microservices

Microservices help financial institutions launch new services easier and faster. It's much easier to work with this architecture because companies don't have to start over if they want to add a new component or service. For example, if a bank wants to integrate a new provider, then there will be no need to rebuild the system. As a result, the team can develop, test and deploy new applications without impacting the entire product, which means that new applications or services can be integrated efficiently and cheaply.

Moreover, considering the Grid Dynamics' approach to microservices architecture, an application can be split into independent services. There is no need to schedule time-consuming integration work between different teams to update a specific service. This means teams can work hand in hand to quickly integrate new components.

#3. Assistance by trained algorithms

The world's leading banks are releasing intelligent voice assistants one by one. The list of their capabilities expands with each new update: they can transfer funds, give detailed answers to questions about expenses and debts, and advise on bank services. 

#4. All operations without leaving home

The pandemic also had a great impact on fintech. 2020 and 2021 will remain the years of the most significant changes in the history of monetary transactions in the last 20 years. Buyers, small sellers and corporations, financial institutions have learned to quickly adapt to new circumstances and constraints, to new consumer psychology and habits.

Along with the growing fears of contamination in public spaces, the number of users preferring contactless payments has grown significantly. The ubiquity of teleworking and restrictions on the work of bank offices have a positive impact on the popularity of mobile banking applications. Uncertainty about the future and job cuts have created an increased demand for money management services, and with them for simple digital tools for novice investors.

#5. Diverse services for different ages

The multifaceted landscape of fintech startups is dictated by the variety of opportunities for managing money and other resources that each individual and organization has. Today, neobanks and niche payment services, RetailTech apps, embedded finance, as well as blockchain solutions appear.

One example is apps that help parents educate their children to be responsible for personal finances. Or, for example, an application that helps employees of organizations get paid any day they want. After signing an agreement, a special plug-in is integrated into the accounting software of organizations that transfers data about employees, their salaries, bonuses and vacations to the service. Employees can get paid instantly, even before the actual salary date.

As you understand, we will see many more innovative applications in the near future.

Final thoughts

The ubiquity of smartphones, fast mobile Internet and digital services for any life scenario has given impetus to changes in the provision of financial services. The pandemic has accelerated these processes by tens of percent. We see how banking services are becoming simpler, smarter and more mobile. At the same time, even bolder and more progressive products are constantly being born within startups. And this is just the beginning.