The innovations and advancements made in the financial services industry have largely been fuelled by technology. From online transactions to fintech apps and internet banking, technology’s impact is undeniable. However, with the widespread adoption of technology has come an even greater aspect that’s revolutionising fintech: big data. Described as the data generated and gathered by electronic devices, big data has presented numerous opportunities for analysis and modelling for the fintech sector.
At the heart of big data is the volumes of raw data that have to be processed to provide meaningful information and insights. For many businesses in the financial services sector, the amount of data is too big for humans to process, leading to a reliance on data science and analytics software to handle this aspect. Through big data, these businesses can accomplish tasks such as risk assessment that enable them to provide financial services to previously unserved groups of people.
Throw in big data technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and fintech companies are gaining the information needed to serve new customers and challenge the dominance of the traditional banking model. While some of these technologies are in their early stages, their potential continues to captivate fintech entrepreneurs and businesses eager to contribute to the global financial scene.
Razi Salih, a businessman with over a decade of experience, has seen fintech’s impact first-hand, having established projects that integrate e–commerce and blockchain capabilities.
In Europe, many fintech solutions have relied on big data to innovate for the financial industry. The beneficiaries of these innovations are consumers and financial providers. Their adoption of the solutions fintech has to offer is also spurring massive investments into the sector, ranging from buyouts and mergers to new acquisitions. Core to this huge interest in big data-driven fintech solutions are several factors that work in fintech’s favour.
Legal Backing
The European fintech industry has the backing of the continent’s major authorities, mainly the European Union (EU). This support, in the form of directives such as the Revised Payment Service Directive (PSD2), has helped to create open banking standards for all players and provided a baseline for third party stakeholders to make meaningful contributions.
The Demand for Innovation
Across Europe, customers demand innovative financial solutions as proven by growing numbers of fintech users and their quick adoption of solutions. As such, fintech companies are constantly thinking of ways to satisfy this demand while providing customer-centric financial experiences.