The FinTech and banking worlds are absolutely chock full of buzzwords that people use in place of lengthy (and at times, vague) descriptions. We’ve written two posts defining some popular ones (you can check out Part 1 here and Part 2 here) but there’s always more cropping up.
To best understand what is trending in these industries and prepare to engage with future ideas, it’s important to stay on top of what’s buzzing. Here are three more buzzwords you’re going to want to know well:
1. Customer-centricity
While it may be a made up word, customer-centricity is a very real concept. We’ve written about it a few times and for good reasons — banks that want to remain relevant in the future will need to be customer-centric. But what does it mean?
At its core, customer-centricity refers to a mindset where financial institutions are truly and demonstrably committed to improving and optimizing the experience of their customers. This means decisions can’t be solely profit driven, they must be customer first.
The reason this buzzword is ascending to prominence is because so many companies in different sectors have seen the value in customer-centricity. It’s sort of like “build it and they will come.” Your customers are expecting great experiences from all companies they interact with, and if yours fails to provide that it will stick out, and not in the good kinda way.
If you’re able to develop real customer-centricity, you’ll be able to remain competitive and profitable. It’s that simple.
2. Predictive Analytics
On the back of an artificial intelligence revolution in banking comes a new buzzword that is increasingly entering the FinTech lexicon — “Predictive Analytics”. Computers are really good at analyzing data and they have been since the punch card days. But they’ve gotten better since then — much better — and what used to be parsing information and telling us what’s happening currently, now computers are able to look at that data and predict what’s going to happen in the future.
Predictive analytics are going to become absolutely essential in banks that want to be future-proof. As Amazon and other big tech companies refine their own data mining procedures to better offer customers what they want before they want it, they’ll reshape consumer expectations. Banks can’t afford to sit back while this happens.
Luckily, where big tech may have greater innovation potential, banks have some of the most granular, useful customer data of any institutions. Full financial history is a huge leg up to have, and if banks partner with the right FinTechs to leverage it, they can remain competitive in the increasingly dynamic financial ecosystem.
3. TechFin
Yes, I wrote TECH-Fin. No, it’s not a typo. This buzzword is a play on the financial technology portmanteau FinTech which puts the fin(ancial) before the tech(nology). What it means is more or less the same, but what it signifies is very specific.
When the technology comes first in the tame, it also means the brand and company stylizing it as TechFin is putting the technology first. Or, at least, that’s what they want to convey. It’s a far enough marketing strategy to emphasize a tech focus over a finance focus, but especially when partnering with banks it’s best to keep both strongly in mind.
As big tech companies with revolutionary technology enter the financial battlefield, we might see an increase in the number of companies adopting this stylized version of FinTech, as it better signifies their origins. But will customers buy it?
Conclusion
There’s always more buzzwords coming down the pipe. At Zafin, we have to keep on top of them so we can gauge the shifts in our industry. Want to learn more about what we do? Get in touch with one of our experts today!
