FinTech is becoming increasingly popular, particularly among businesses. It entails automating the delivery and utilisation of financial services in order to streamline financial operations. From raising money for a start-up, depositing a cheque with the smartphone, online banking, to managing investments – FinTech is expanding at an incredible rate. Similarly, accountants are no longer required to prepare financial statements such as balance sheets and cash flow statements because software can do so in minutes. New Zealand has risen 15 places to number 30 in the Global Fintech Rankings.
As per a FinTech data company report, 2020 was a year in which New Zealand’s financial technology sector expanded globally and financially, capitalising on a surge in demand for technology that improves access to digital finance.
Previous reports indicated that this trend was accelerating, but during the time period covered by this year’s report, diversity among FinTech companies exploded, with 50 new cities and 20 new countries added to the index, indicating that they are home to at least 10 privately-owned FinTech companies.
According to the 2021 Global Fintech Rankings, identifies emerging hubs, FinTech companies and trends. The Index algorithm ranks the fintech ecosystems of more than 264 cities across 83 countries incorporating data from the fintech data company’s own records and collated and verified by its Global Partnership Network, including other investment and fund platforms and 60+ fintech associations globally. The index was first published in 2019 and has seen a huge uptake by the fintech industry.
“New Zealand has performed remarkably well in this year’s Global Fintech Rankings, shooting up 15 places in the global rankings to now sit at number 30 worldwide,” says general manager A/NZ of a cloud banking platform.
“New Zealand is clearly punching above its weight in terms of fintech innovation, and these results show us that the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t hamper the industry in any way in fact it has accelerated the acceptance and adoption of digital banking technologies across the board,” he then added.
New Zealand’s FinTech ecosystem is thriving, and companies are currently looking forward to seeing how the country’s innovative fintech players continue to disrupt traditional financial services.
The open banking service, which launched the first application programming interface (API) standards tied to account data and payment initiations, is basically the reason for New Zealand’s expanding FinTech ecosystem. The move comes after a pilot launched last year involving several stakeholders in the industry. The overarching approach has been to bring API standards to bear so that financial firms can speed the time it takes to bring new products and services to market.
The overarching approach has been to bring API standards to bear so that financial firms can speed the time it takes to bring new products and services to market.
The Chief Executive of the programming company said, “These open payments-related standards will be used as an important building block for new innovation, which can benefit all Kiwis. It is mentioned that open banking is expected to boost New Zealand’s financial technology sector. The government is keeping a close eye on its progress, claiming that COVID-19 has slowed its development. However, the pandemic may open new opportunities for the expanding sector.
With more FinTech companies being founded in a greater range of locales, from sub-Saharan Africa to the digital currency launched in the Bahamas, the needs of specific populations are being served by people from those areas. In total, of the 83 countries in the rankings this year, more than 20% are new entrants. In short, emerging markets and digitally savvy but underbanked populations continue to be sources of FinTech innovation.
Businesses, on the other hand, are investing in FinTech software to ensure efficient financial management. Similarly, they use economic forecasts to make financing and investment decisions.