Here’s how tech is changing the financial world

When PayPal was introduced in 1999, it changed the way people made payments, promoting the pivot from paper money and checks to the digital realm. It marked a shift in both the finance and ecommerce spaces, and its legacy remains until today.

Such innovations have continued to develop. Companies are tapping into artificial intelligence, blockchain, and other technologies to revolutionize the financial landscape, and advancements are constantly being made in response to the challenges in fintech.

Here’s a closer look at three companies making waves in the financial industry via their use of new technologies that have either received accreditation from the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) or enrolled in the government agency’s Spark program.

Payment security

With the rise of e-payments, security has become a major area for concern, with issues like fraud and spoofing at the forefront of developers’ minds.

That’s where Jewel Paymentech comes in. Founded in 2014, the Singaporean firm develops intelligent risk solutions for banks and payment facilitators to conduct merchant due diligence – as part of their know your customer (KYC) process – and manages transaction fraud risks using predictive analytics.

“AI technology that’s embedded into our systems makes it more efficient for our clients to operate their payments business,” Jewel Paymentech CEO Sean Lam says, pointing out that its platform enables real-time transaction and product monitoring as well.

(L-R) Jewel Paymentech CEO Sean Lam with chief operating officer Wooi Siang Lee and chief financial officer Sandra Cheim / Photo credit: Jewel Paymentech

The firm’s solutions can also help new and smaller merchants in the long run. According to Lam, such vendors find it challenging to obtain and install e-payment acceptance devices like point-of-sale terminals or mobile applications, as they are perceived to be of higher risk. By streamlining the KYC process for banks, Jewel Paymentech enables companies to acquire these devices.

He also notes that going through IMDA’s accreditation process, which involves stringent technical reviews, allowed the company to boost its product robustness and security.

For Lam, AI has plenty of potential in the financial space. “AI can help mitigate risks and ensure trust as the finance industry embraces a fully digital future,” he explains.

Digital banking experiences

As e-banking becomes more popular, financial institutions are turning to digital channels to engage with customers. As such, they need to ensure that their clients have a positive online experience.

One company that’s helping banks address this matter is Singapore-headquartered Bambu.

Founded in 2016, the startup specializes in providing digital wealth technology that makes saving and investing simpler for users. . According to Bambu founder and CEO Ned Phillips, its platform allows clients “to focus on their core expertise of financial services and offload the technical and user experience challenges” to the company.

Image credit: Bambu

“Our features mainly focus on the customer experience, hence, our solutions are built to solve a customer pain point,” he explains. For example, Bambu developed a questionnaire that clients can ask their customers to fill out, stating their personal goals and priorities. Because the form is conducted online, customers can be serviced at any time, anywhere.

Noting that AI also “plays a large part” in Bambu’s solutions, Phillips says that the startup primarily uses the tech in two ways: improving user experience and enhancing financial advice.

For instance, AI helps Bambu come up with more efficient portfolios and allows its clients to achieve their financial goals.

Phillips believes that technology, especially AI, can go far in the financial sphere, citing how it “can help lower the cost of risk profiling, credit scoring, and other core financial processes.” This, in turn, reduces overall expenses and makes financial products and services accessible to more people.

Adapting the old to the new

As technology changes the way people approach their finances, established institutions need to adapt their existing infrastructures. This process, however, is a lengthy and expensive one.

Enter Verrency, a startup that helps banks and credit card issuers to deliver cutting-edge fintech innovation without having to invest in infrastructural overhauls. It does this by providing a layer for traditional banking systems to interact with, connecting them to new fintech solutions and services.

Verrency CEO David Link / Photo credit: Verrency

By offering “new and exciting services like auto-rounding, budgeting tools, and the ability to spend loyalty points anywhere, anytime,” Verrency enables its clientele to create a better experience for their customers as well as “to continuously innovate and refresh,” shares David Link, the Melbourne-based company’s chief executive.

Moving forward, AI will feature significantly in Verrency’s future, “particularly surrounding our upcoming analytics offering for consumer rewards, loyalty, and engagement,” says Link.

The future lies in tech

The fintech sphere is constantly evolving, and it is bound to make an impact other verticals such as insurance, tourism, logistics, and healthcare.

“Data sharing and analytics is increasingly being used to help consumers make more informed decisions about their finances,” observes Link. “More than ever, we need [to get] a complete view of customer activity across products, [to integrate] channels to improve the customer experience, and to make more data-backed business decisions.”

Find out more on IMDA’s website.