Trends to watch out for, the next big year! or its portmanteau ‘ is no longer confined to the dark and dingy corners of back-offices, in fact, it has taken centre stage by making itself indispensable to almost all of the customer-driven processes. Any digital transaction, be it, , is possible at our fingertips thanks to ‘FinTech.’ So, how did FinTech come to play such an essential role in the lives of us consumers? Financial Technology FinTech’ online shopping, foreign currency exchange, stock investments or money transfers As it was rightly said by Mr. White — “ ”. This new explosion in IT is definitely the one that is knocking on every VCs and investors doorstep. This could be precisely said because the overall investment in Financial Technology has . I am the one who knocks already surpassed the 2017 results in mid-year itself Let’s take a look at some of the major breakthroughs that occurred in FinTech this year, WorldPay (now ) was publicly listed which provided online services for accepting electronic transactions by a variety of methods such as credit card, bank based or direct transfer. It also offered a range of merchant services and operated in an extensive demographic (400,000 merchants in 146 countries) across the globe. It was acquired by , a leading provider of payment processing services and related technology solutions for financial institutions. The acquisition came as a significant step forward for the two giants. WorldPay which competes with the likes of and several others gained significant momentum after the acquisition. • The acquisition of WorldPay WorldPay, Inc payment processing platform Vantiv $12.9 billion VeriFone, PayPal, Stripe It didn’t come as a surprise to many when China’s raised about $14 billion in its last seed round. After all, it is backed by one of the biggest names in the industry ( .). • The Funding of Ant Financial Ant Financial Alibaba Group Holding Ltd Image Source: www.ft.com The funding made Ant the world’s leading FinTech firm. The funding undeniably equipped them with enormous resources for expansion. The affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is alreadyChina’s biggest online payments service and even controls the world’s largest money market fund. “ ,” Ant’s CEO Eric Jing said in a statement to Bloomberg. Now, with the help of our partners, we are going to accelerate our strategy Analyzing the above developments we could accurately predict where FinTech is headed in 2019. Let’s take a sneak peek, 1. RegTech is here to stay Compliance, Complexity, Cost and Bureaucratic processes have always stifled the development of the finance industry. The long and tedious processes have proven to be a bane for the industry. This led to the reincarnation of a morbid industry that never saw a significant thrust since the spurt of the . Consequently, we are seeing a lot of financial firms shifting to to bridge those gaps. One must wonder- dot-com bubble Regulatory Technology (RegTech) What exactly is RegTech?? It is essentially such as regulatory compliance. It has a significant impact on financial services. In simpler words, it is a technology that helps financial service firms get better at dealing with regulation. For instance, . But the benefits of RegTech far exceeds than just KYC. As the , technologies such as are enabling companies to gain insights into regulatory practices, automate reporting, carry out a meaningful inspection of critical compliance risk areas and even potentially create an end-to-end view of compliance. Companies are using RegTech to deal with the vast amount of data they are generating. More data handled the right way also means better information.Many VCs and investors have already started riding on the RegTech bandwagon, due to which there has been a significant increase in the investment across this lucrative sector. RegTech has a promising future ahead, and these new-age startups will be the ones to watch out for in the upcoming calendar. Based out of Luxembourg, and founded by brothers Bert and Rob Boerman, this RegTech startup provides smart technology and support services to facilitate the control of regulated companies. They raised their Series A round this year. Governance.io has established itself as a platform for good governance through the use of technology and support. Deployed , the solution allows all stakeholders to collaborate on data, documentation, and workflows. It also provides a white-labelled client portal to exchange data and collaborate on meetings and due diligence questionnaires. . This UK based startup was founded in 2015. Riding on new age technologies, ALA has established a stronghold in the Compliance sector. It offers enterprise-wide for buy and sell-side institutions and other financial firms. Their bring alternative data insights for financial institutions. By using , ALA develops and apply risk calculations. Communications and other source data are scored against a series of to quickly pick up on any issues that could cause problems. the use of technology across financial services functions to ease financial tasks Know Your Customer (KYC) world is moving from big data to ‘smart data’ artificial intelligence and machine learning . There has been an investment of $1.37 billion in the first half of 2018 — more than for all of 2017 1. Governance.io / governance.com: at-premise or in the cloud A network of governance supports clients that can provide hosting, operational support, regulatory advisory, and other support services 2. Advanced logic analytics: big data and financial analytics solutions data science-led business offering and AI driven algorithms machine learning-based analytic techniques Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) RegTech startups that are creating a difference in the Compliance Sector Agreement Express provides for financial services. Their platform allows wealth management and payments companies to deliver customer application, approval, and onboarding services across their offerings. They provide seamless integration to the back-office for compliance and risk workflows which is one of their most sought-after features. 3. Agreement express: onboarding automation software The differentiating factor for this Munich based startup has been the market it caters**.** Alyne offerings include across all industries of all magnitudes. They call themselves “Business focused Software as a Service”. 4. Alyne: cybersecurity, risk management and compliance capabilities Surety caters to a niche segment of Regulatory Technology. They provide technology to protect the integrity of digital information using They are also one of the prominent providers of regulatory services such as . Surety sanctions users to apply to almost any form of electronic information. They are , providing long-term and independent proof with the guarantee that the information hasn’t been tampered since. 5. Surety: cryptographic time-stamping service. IP protection and digital footprint preservation tamper-proof digital “Seals” easily deployable across enterprise or cloud Appzen is an extremely impressive AI platform that utilizes , It integrates with all major ERPs, invoicing software, and expense automation products. This six-year-old startup is and has recently . Appzen enjoys clientele such as , and 650 major organizations. “ ,” AppZen’s Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement. 6. AppZen: machine learning to audit contracts expense reports and invoices. valued at $175 million raised $35 million in its Series B round Airbnb, Amazon, Citi Bank, Salesforce, Intuit The goal is to address all the domains in the CFO organization Anant Kale AQMETRICS provides software for financial services firms trading on the global financial markets. Headquartered in Kildare, Ireland (EU), AQMETRICS has raised almost in investment so far. They specialize in providing and to investment management companies. AQMETRICS serves a suite of cloud-based solutions and supports a full range of global regulatory reporting. Arachnys’ vision is focused on exploiting the evolving markets rather than already lucrative ones because they believe emerging markets, which are often fragmented and poorly organized will see an explosion of business information. Unlike their RegTech counterparts, Arachnys, therefore, targets the Eurasian market more extensively. Their primary emphasis remains attractive markets like . Arachnys domain expertise caters to by using cutting-edge technologies such as . Their products are specifically tailored to serve diverse customer base and are extensively customizable. 7. AQMETRICS: GRC (Governance, Risk & Compliance) $3.3 Million unified market surveillance compliance solutions 8. Arachnys: China, India, Russia, and the Middle East Customer Risk Evaluation lifecycle Robotic Process Automation, Machine Learning, Intelligence, and Natural Language Processing 2. Artificial Intelligence: In the early days of banking, bankers used to have personal connections with their customers. Each step of the banking process involved customer-client interaction. But due to the digitization of the banking process, this personal connection has been lost. So, is it possible to leverage the same technology to get that human interaction back? Image Source: geniusmonkey.com Many believe, . Artificial intelligence (A.I.) will continue to govern FinTech in new ways. . A.I can be leveraged to bring back that connection In 2019, we could see companies use A.I. to develop new commerce interfaces, with the number of companies looking into voice set to increase Let’s delve into the potential use-cases of A.I: : In traditional banking infrastructure, there were a lot of customers who were underserved and ignored. They couldn’t apply for a loan because they didn’t have a credit score. Many startups have stepped up to bridge that crevice. . Many tools and technologies such as are being deployed to ensure a detailed evaluation of the potential borrower. These technologies let banks build a vivid picture that allows them to evaluate whether a candidate is creditworthy. • Credit Scores Various applications are coming up to assist customers who want to apply for a loan but have no credit history for the bank to review Psychometric Analysis, Behavioral Detection, Predictive Analysis, and mining of the borrower’s data through the web, social media, geo-location and even browser history : The banking sector is the single most targeted area by hackers and fraudsters for obvious reasons. This anomaly allows for the development of some of the most innovative and hi-tech solutions in this realm. , and numerous other tools and technologies are being deployed by financial firms and new-age startups to address this issue. Many and issue warnings in case of possible security infringement. Due to these developments, and digital payment gateways to carry out their financial transactions. • Security and Fraud Control Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Optimized Algorithms A.I tools have also come into use to analyze and observe user’s critical behavioral patterns it was observed in the Q3 that consumers are increasingly becoming more at ease at using A.I-driven applications : Time and again it has been witnessed that most of the customer-facing processes are becoming obsolete by every passing day. They are being revolutionized by the advent . It could be easily figured out as to what exactly is driving that trend. Automation of customer-facing services address one problem that has always costed companies in billions of dollar — . • Customer Support Automation of Chabots and Virtual Assistants Human Error Image Source: medium.com/techsee A.I driven platforms with use of Natural Language Processing (NLP) are turning more human than ever. This combined with no possible error in delivery makes it an ideal fit. Chatbots can not only answer customer queries intelligently, but they can also be integrated with social networking sites, and accept requests for applications and orders directly from social media channels. The outcomes clearly surpassed the forecasts. Gartner prediction for 2018, projected more than 2 billion people would be diligently using conversational A.I to interact with virtual assistants on different platforms. 3. Blockchain will venture beyond Bitcoin: The much-hyped technology upon which Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are based — , is all set out to venture beyond Bitcoin and will serve various other markets and domains. Keeping in mind the potential of , several banks and financial firms have planned for considerable investments in the domain. Many companies have rolled out pilot programs across a range of industries, including — . Earlier in 2018, several banks in Asia conducted a pilot in which Blockchain was used to transfer funds across continents in a matter of few seconds. The Blockchain Blockchain financial services, healthcare and even global logistics Image Source: twitter.com/chboursin The following could be the potential use cases that can come into light in 2019, : Blockchain could help tremendously in gun control and weapon accountability. This could easily be one of the single most significant reform that could change the entire state of firearm distribution. And gun control being such a trending topic on almost every new network. Blockchain could create a completely transparent and never-changing registry ledger that allows law enforcement to track down weapons and guns ownership. It could also be utilized to keep a record of weapons sold privately. If you are worried about booth capturing or voter fraud. Then Blockchain will offer you a sigh of relief. Blockchain would offer the ability to vote digitally and at the same time be transparent enough that any regulator could see if any irregularity or fraud transpires. The decentralized nature and its immutability would ensure your vote truly counts. Digital IDs with the help of Blockchain would be a boon for the impoverished and developing nations by giving them access to financial services. Tech giant Microsoft is already planning to venture into the domain by creating digital IDs within its Authenticator app. 1. Weapons Tracking 2. Digital Voting: 3. Digital IDs: Since paper trails are frequently a source of confusion, it is entirely possible that Blockchain will take paper out of the equation. So, if one plans to buy or sell land, a house, or even a car you’ll just require to transfer the title. Thanks to Blockchain these titles will get stored on the network allowing for a crystal clear picture of the legal ownership. 4. Real Estate: Patient privacy would be utterly discreet by the introduction of Blockchain in the pharmaceutical sector. The patients who possess the key to access these records will be in complete ownership of their data and will control who can access or view that data. Thus strengthening the that are designed to protect their privacy. 5. Record keeping of medical records: HIPAA laws Many networking corporations have announced that they are working on a Blockchain based application that will monitor the Internet of Things network. Such an application would help determine the authenticity of the devices on the network and would continuously do so for devices entering and leaving the network. This could drive a significant shift in device-to-device integration. 6. Managing IoT (Internet of Things) networks: 4. Financial Inclusion: In the largest ever gathering of FinTech firms in Singapore, Indian Prime Minister, introduced attractive policies and plans to invite investors to the Indian landscape. “ ,” said Modi, the keynote speaker at the Singapore FinTech Festival. In Nigeria, FinTech startup has come with a solution that provides simple and reliant digital payment system to the consumers. So, consumers of Nigeria who were generally skeptical when it comes to e-commerce, have embraced the platform. Narendra Modi I say this to all the FinTech companies and startups: India is your best destination NetPlus Developments such as these are proving to be an excellent boost for evolving markets such as India, Brazil, Nigeria, Indonesia, and several others. Earlier when the FinTech hubs used to be just San Francisco, Singapore, and London, such developments are driving investors to these huge rewarding markets. This shift in the market will gain significant traction next year and developing nations would possible see tremendous growth in investments across FinTech and RegTech. Also, several financial establishments are planning to open up new premises in these countries which definitely suggests what is expected to come our way in 2019. Wrapping up: My prediction for 2019: It is big, It is growing, and It is disruptive. FinTech would be the second-most significant transformation in Finance, since the first permanent banknotes** **. . I believe, Financial Technology would not only disrupt the way we purchase and invest, but it would also alter the very definition of money itself is upon us and banks, and financial firms will enjoy a roller-coaster ride riding on the FinTech wagon. 2019 will be the year of banks acquiring FinTech firms, or waiting for their slow demise. Those who catch the FinTech train would bolster, and the rest would be gasping for air. FinTech 3.0 After all, it is true what they say — . You snooze, You lose If you have any queries at all, please feel free to drop your comments. Originally Published on by EngineerBabu Blog Saransh Sethi — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Read My Other Related Articles 1. How to Start a FinTech Company , Also on Hackernoon 2. Top 10 Fintech Companies Transforming Finance in USA 3. Digital Transformation in Finance , Also on Hackernoon 4. How is Blockchain Revolutionizing Banking and Financial Markets , Also on Hackernoon 5. Asking for Blockchain to your Daily Banking Solutions , Also on Hackernoon I am Mayank, Cofounder of EngineerBabu . Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn | mayank@engineerbabu.com (About EngineerBabu — Medium ). In addition Help startups, enterprises, and owners to grow their business by building high class IT solutions. 95% of projects developed by them were completed on-time. , Win most innovative Premier Design Award, selected in Y-Combinator 2016 & 2017. EngineerBabu 30+ funded by VCs

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