Fintech and Payment Outlook 2021 | TBA

Trend #1: Collaboration and fusion between established players and fintechs.
The competition between established banks/financial institutions and fintech startups has generally been seen as a winner-takes-all-dynamic, as e.g. the term “challenger banks” entails. However, the philosophy in the industry is gradually shifting from competition to collaboration and fusion as actors realize their strengths and shortcomings.

Industry giants like VISA, Mastercard, Barclays, Raiffeisen, ING have set up venture funds and accelerator programs to acquire and onboard innovative fintech startups. Deloitte suggests that fintechs should also seek partnership opportunities with fintechs, bigtechs, and nonfinancial services firms.

Trend #2: Digital only banks will significantly increase their market share.
As nations locked down, clients shied away from non-urgent bank visits – despite them being open as considered “essential service providers”. “Digital-only banks” like Revolut and N26 have shown that smartphones are all it needs to provide clients a seamless banking experience. Already in 2017, a 36 % decline of bank branch visits to 2022 was forecast, the Covid pandemic is likely to aggravate this trend further.

Trend #3: Fintech regulation will intensify and become international.
While Fintechs are regulated by national financial supervisors, their low-cost-structure allows them to quickly expand regionally or globally. Financial watchdogs are challenged to review existing regulation, such as requirements for in-person contact, and update or complement them with digital alternatives to enable smooth banking and payment transactions in the digital age.

Trend #4: Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in fintech and payment will increase.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to massively disrupt the financial industry in the coming years. Potential applications of AI solutions in financial services are legion, the most prominent one being the prevention of fraud and data breaches.

Trend #5: Digital payments and wallets will outgrow debit cards.
In 2021, consumers no longer need their wallets or debit cards to make payments. Instead, their smartphones hold mobile wallets containing their debit and credit cards. Mobile payment services like Google Wallet and Apply Pay are rapidly gaining traction. While not all consumers are comfortable with using such services yet, already in 2019 there were 2.1bn mobile wallet users – a number that is set to grow quickly.

Conclusion
While Fintech investment was down in the Corona year 2020, the coming year 2021 will likely see a rapid evolution of the Fintech and payment industry. Emerging technologies, among them most prominently AI and Blockchain, will be both enablers and accelerators of this development.

In the quest for gaining a competitive edge, established players and fintech disruptors increasingly cooperate and build strategic alliances. While end-users continue to adopt digital payments and digital-only banks, companies seek to leverage digital transformation to streamline operations and realize cost efficiencies. Meanwhile, financial regulators watch closely and cooperate on an international level to ensure consumer protection without unnecessarily hampering fintech innovation.