Understanding FinTech — Power To The People
There is no such thing a boring day in the world of FinTech, as new announcements and innovations are taking place around the clock. Established players in this segment are not only looking to expand their customer base, but also to make sure people keep the right goal in mind. Airbnb, for example, knows it’s a huge business, but they wouldn’t be where they are right now without the people using their service.
Also read: FinTech Industry Needs More Consumer Educational Efforts
Never Forget How Things Began
As exciting and innovative as the FinTech sector truly is, sometimes people lose track of how it all began. Especially when companies start receiving funds and become successful, it is not unthinkable its founders will lose track of the goal they have been trying to achieve for so long. This is not necessarily a bad thing, albeit people have to acknowledge their roots a bit more now and then.
Becoming one of the top brands in the FinTech industry is no easy feat, and such an accomplishment should be applauded by any means. However, that success did not just stem forth from a financial injection, or being “lucky”, it all happens because there is a strong community using and promoting the product or service.
In the normal world, this means that companies should give back to the community who helped them become a global brand. Not all companies are doing so, however, and some will keep trucking along as if their success was only their own doing. This is where Airbnb is proving to be vastly different, as they recognize the responsible parties for the company’s success.
Not only has Airbnb dedicated part of company profits to ensuring San Francisco’s Proposition F would not come to pass, but they also enlisted a huge amount of volunteers and paid staff to knock on doors and get people’s opinions. Due to the unforeseen success of their “No on F” campaign, the strategy will be exported to other cities as well.
But that is not all, as Airbnb is planning to built community guilds in various cities around the world. Fighting unwanted regulations is all but impossible for regular citizens, but with the help of such a large company, things can be taken to an even playing field. These organizations will receive funding, training, support, and tools from Airbnb to achieve their goals.
Any company active in the FinTech world would love nothing more than to turn their customers into some level of activists. Evangelizing about the product or service is one thing, but actively fighting for change is something else entirely. Passionate community members will go out of their way and advocate for this new breed of companies, but some stimulation from the businesses themselves can go a long way.
Innovation Is Key; People Are Power in The FinTech World
Any product or service in life stands or falls based on the community supporting it. Traditional finance, for example, will only remain viable as long as there is a critical mass of users relying on this system. FinTech companies are poised to innovate and disrupt this infrastructure, peeling away customers left, right and center.
No one is telling people to switch to other means of payments or finance right now, as there is still a lot of potential waiting to be explored. But there is one thing everyday consumers need to keep in mind: traditional financial institutions don’t care about the work their customers do to recommend services or products, all they care about is draining as much money out of everybody’s pocket as they possibly can.
Last but not least, the financial sector as we all know it is not keen on innovation at all. To them, everything is working fine the way it is. Nothing could be further from the truth, however, as the lack of innovation is part of the reason society has seen multiple financial crises in rapid succession. Until that innovation takes shape, the FinTech industry is anyone’s best bet for a stable financial future.
(Partial) Source: CNN Money
Header image courtesy of Shutterstock
Originally published at Fintechist.
