3 Developments to Expect in the Continuing Fintech Boom

It’s 2016 and Fintech means more than just payments. As app developers and startups continue to unbundle banks and develop new technologies that disrupt a status quo that has dictated how we do business for decades, consumer finance is changing rapidly.

There are a lot of exciting developments to watch in the space, but some stand out as particularly interesting as the technology being produced is enabling entirely new and different ways for consumers and businesses to manage money. Here are three of the most exciting of these developments you should keep an eye on:

Extensive Unbundling of Common Services

It’s almost hard to remember a time when personal finance management required an advisor or loan research required a lending officer. Many of the most important decisions we make in our financial lives are now down ad-hoc through services custom-built for those services. Mint and Digit provide personal finance resources while Lending Club and Prosper make it possible to get a loan through a peer-to-peer platform. Betterment allows for financial planning and portfolio management online.

This unbundling of services once the purview of financial advisors and banks will only continue as users are able to manage their money, store it, move it, make payments, and even get credit without direct interaction to a bank.

Open Access to Bank Resources for Developers

The banking industry isn’t going anywhere, but it has seen competition in areas that never before had, especially in high margin activities like lending. But for developers, building a new solution from scratch every time they want to integrate credit offers or payment support into a new app is problematic, and banks are stepping up to help fill that void.

Capital One DevExchange is a prime example with several APIs launched in just the last few months that provide this kind of support for developers on any type of project. Credit Offers, Rewards access, and banking integration can all be worked into new and existing apps using their APIs, and this movement is only getting started as the banking industry works to evolve with the growing fintech boom.

Rethinking Lending and Startup Capital

This is not a new trend but it’s continuing to drive innovation in business and as it matures, new players are entering the market with new technologies to enable it.

Crowdfunding, best represented by pioneers like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo allow new businesses, entrepreneurs and even some established companies to fund ventures without relying on costly or potentially risky loans from traditional lending institutions.

Reception of crowdfunding has vacillated to some degree in recent years, but this is not a fad that will fade away with time. Projected to grow at a rate of 26.87% CAGR between 2016-2020 according to the CrowdFundBeat Data Center, this is already a multi-billion-dollar industry and the number of vendors is growing as well, each with a new spin on the practice. Combined with enhanced APIs, the ability to embed crowdfunding into websites or even build proprietary platforms, this is an important resource for many small businesses and entrepreneurs going forward.

The Future of Fintech Is Still Developing

Fintech applications and services are just getting started. This is a brand new industry – among the fastest growing today – and companies will continue to brainstorm and develop solutions to old problems as they unbundle bank services, open up access to new sources of funding, and integrate the cloud and web-based payments into more areas of our lives.

Keep an eye on these trends and more as the world of Fintech only further grows in the years to come.

And if you’re eager to be a part of this booming trend, as a developer, designer, or business leader, you can join us for the Capital One DevExchange Hackathon on November 10th. Work hands-on with Capital One’s newest APIs to develop the next generation of innovative technology: