Fintech with pears and apples

Fintech is here to stay and not only that, but to complement financial services worldwide in a revolutionary way.

First of all, it is mandatory to ask us the following question: What are “Fintech”?”? It is understood as Fintech the industry in which companies use technology to provide financial services in an efficient, agile, convenient and reliable manner. The word is formed from the contraction of the terms “finance” and “technology” (Fintech Mexico)

So, too, it can be understood as those that provide access to financial services from the comfort of your home, office or wherever you are, avoiding queues and tedious procedures of a traditional financial service; and for this purpose they use websites, applications and social networks.

Although it is an industry that has been developing in Mexico for some time, it was until March, 2018, when the Act to Regulate Financial Technology Institutions.

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The Fintech Act (Act to Regulate Financial Technology Institutions) regulates the figure of ITFs (Financial Technology Institutions), and we must understand that:

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“Not all FINTECHs are ITFs, but all ITFs are FINTECHs.”

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To understand their difference, I invite you to watch the following video:

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Continuing, with the enactment of the law, Mexico positions itself as a major Latin American driver in regulation; other countries that also have regulatory policies are the Netherlands, Abu Dhabi, Canada, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Some of the services offered are:

• Crowfunding (collective funding)
• Lending (online lending)
• Means of payment and transfers
• Cryptocurrencies and blockchain
• Insurtech (technology applied to the provision of insurance)
• Trading (buying and selling shares)
• Personal and business finance management

Fintech is an option with a great projection to the future - not too distant - for entrepreneurs who want to venture into a new field, and with great growth due to the great support of venture capital in industries such as these.

In Mexico, according to Finnovista, in the last year alone - 2019 - the development of fintech startups grew by 14% compared to the previous year, and today they employ more than 60,000 people in the country.

It was also detailed that of the financial technology companies - around 500 firms in Mexico - 70% are in Mexico City, Monterrey has 11%, and Guadalajara barely 7%.

Examples are: Clip, Konfío, Kredfeed, Digitt, Bitso, YotePresto, Briq, Finerio, and others.

According to the study Reducing Cash Use and Financial Inclusion, It is expected that in two years, 55% of cashless payments will be made with digital cards -Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) -.

On the other hand, if we are not supporters of entrepreneurship, as customers we can benefit from its low costs, speed, transparency and security both in our finances and in those of our business. The use of technology makes it possible to offer financial products with better utilities for users.

To summarize, Fintech is an industry with a lot of field to exploit, both in Mexico and globally; for that reason, it is important to continue to break the current financial services paradigm- not to mention traditional - looking at the Fintech that are here to stay and not only that, but also, to benefit us both in our personal finances and in our endeavors.