Fintech trends in 2022 with Mojaloop, Highline, Provide Finance, Zuto & Earnest

This month at Fintech Times our focus turns to reflection as we look back at developments over the past 12 months. 2022 has certainly been a challenging year for anyone with global economic activity experiencing a severe slowdown, with inflation higher than in decades.

Our community of fintech CEOs and leaders have shared their thoughts on this year’s big fintech trends, including Mojaloop Foundation, Earnest, Highline Technologies, Provide Finance and Zuto.

Mojaloop Foundation

Paula Hunter is the managing director of Mojaloop Foundationa non-profit organization focused on increasing financial inclusion by empowering organizations that create interoperable payment systems to enable digital financial services for all.

Hunter says the biggest fintech trend in 2022 was the increased interest in wholesale central bank digital currencies.

“There were new projects, new partnerships and new collaborations initiated by the central banks of many countries, including the Federal Reserve here in the US. Covid-19 was a big driver of this trend; the pandemic certainly made cash and disbursement of cash more challenging.

Authorities have always been aware of how expensive it is to create, maintain and spread the supply of cash. In recent years, however, the added sanitation concerns and the fact that more people needed help during Covid have fueled interest in an alternative to cash, as governments tried to look at new ways to electronically transfer funds to their citizens and people. in need.”

Highline technologies

Geoff Brown is co-founder and CEO of Highline Technologies, a payment fintech that unlocks salary-related lending and billing. He suggests that consumers now look at banks and non-banks equally when comparing and taking advantage of new services.

“While a few years ago consumers may have approached non-banks with some concerns about security or legitimacy, that is no longer the case. On the one hand, this has created an explosion of new financial products for consumers to choose from; on the other hand, it creates greater complexity and frustration for consumers as they now need to manage an ever-growing set of financial products, services and transactions. Fintechs that can find simpler and less frustrating ways to deliver their services will reap huge benefits from grateful consumers.

“The other big trend is the more challenging playing field that has emerged this year. As access to capital has tightened, staying power has become central to any fintech’s strategy. In addition, many banks and other financial services firms are turning inward when assessing risk profiles and controls; this is yet another headwind for fintechs, whether they sell to banks or rely on them for solution delivery. Unfortunately, this is already driving consolidation in a number of product categories and niches, and we expect that to accelerate through 2023.”

Provide finance

Miranda Khadr, founder and CEO of Provide finances, is an advocate for the importance of technology in finance and the need to offer easy-to-understand customer solutions. She discusses the importance of customer experience.

“In lending, we have seen the rise of the challenger banks, many of which are digital only, and they have become an important source of financing for small and medium-sized businesses. In 2022, traditional banks withdrew from lending to small and medium-sized businesses, and the challenger banks discovered this gap in the market and have taken advantage of the opportunity.

“Challenger banks are investing heavily in their digital systems, which has given them the edge as they are agile, quick to respond and work with real-time data to quickly offer a competitive lending solution.

“But I think where digital-only banks sometimes fall down is providing face-to-face customer service. While the pandemic accelerated the demand for digital services, because of the need for social distancing, I think there’s a happy medium to be found. Borrowers like convenient digital banking services, but they also appreciate a friendly expert at the end of the phone line.

“This is a position I have taken in my own business. Customers liked the efficiency of the Provide platform, but sometimes they needed guidance from a financial expert. So we evolved from a fintech-only platform in 2022 to a platform with a dedicated finance team and online resource centre.”

Serious

To David Greenmanaging director of fintech Serious – a lender focused on making higher education accessible and affordable – 2022 has seen customers talk with their wallets.

Green says: “Customers are responding well to built-in financial options outside of traditional banking websites and apps. Buy now, pay later has grown, I think in response to customers choosing to spend time and money in ways they can manage.

“Finally, fintech firms that thrive seem to place transparency and responsiveness to customer inquiries at the top of their solution lists. Great products are great, but not if new-to-fintech customers struggle to engage with them. Fintech can sounds technical, so having employees who can solve problems with customers makes all the difference.”

Zuto

Jim Wilkinson is co-founder and CEO of Zuto; the Manchester-based fintech. Wilkinson founded Zuto with the mission to transform the auto finance industry, to bring more transparency and trust to customers. He shares three fintech trends:

“One, embedded products, such as insurance and financial products, has been a growing area that I have followed with interest this year. These are products that are complementary to the customer and will be beneficial to them. Embedded insurance products are something that we are building into our platform and it makes a huge difference to our customers so they can buy everything in one trip.

“Two, ESG initiatives and becoming a purpose-led business is something that more organizations are beginning to consider. Historically, many companies have cast aside the greater good in pursuit of commercial gain, but committing to being a force for good does not mean you have to lose success in other areas of your business A commitment to ESG is becoming more and more important for companies from a competitive point of view.

“Three, open banking has transformed our decision-making technology. We see it as a great development that will not only benefit consumers – providing simplicity and transparency – but will also drive further innovation in the fintech sector.”