Technology key to survival in changing landscape
Financial services companies that adopt and use financial technology (fintech) are most likely to succeed while the sector undergoes disruption and change according to AWI chief executive Ben Heap.
According to Heap, the financial services market has already moved into a period if disruption and change in which Australia can both lead in and benefit from the development of fintech.
"We have crossed the precipice with fintech. Disruption is underway in the financial services market in Australia and globally. The financial services industry is poised at the brink of changes that will forever alter the way customers view us, what they expect from us and how they interact with us. And fintech is the driver of that change," Heap said.
Heap's comment form part of a report into the top 50 fintech innovators complied by AWI, KPMG and the Financial Services Council (FSC) and in which he stated the level of global fintech financing had more than trebled in the past three years to an estimated US$3 billion annually.
He also stated the level of innovation in the financial services sector had been unprecedented in the past year and has already resulted in products and solutions that are changing the way consumers regard and access the offerings of financial services providers.
The 50 groups selected from across the globe were chosen based on total capital raised, the rate of capital raising, the degree of sub industry disruption and degree of product, service, customer experience and business model innovation.
Four of the 50 businesses in the report were from Australia, including online investment and portfolio management service Stockpot with another three Australian businesses falling outside the 50 but chosen as groups to watch, including SelfWealth which allows self-directed investors to compare their portfolio's performance against those of investment professionals and the market.
FSC chief executive John Brogden said after fintech innovation was important for the financial services sector and after a period of regulation it could return to providing new and products and services that address the changing needs of consumers
"As Australia's largest industry, financial services has an enormous opportunity to lead on innovation. If the calibre of companies and business ideas in this list is anything to go by, we can expect that many financial services businesses will be disrupted — positively — in the future" he said.
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