Wearable technology — the next wave of revolution in FinTech
It is no surprise that Fintech has reshaped, reinvented and redefined the financial services landscape. In 2016, global funding in Fintech reached a staggering $78.6 Billion from a mere $5.5 Billion in 2005.
As we head towards a mobile-only world, customers are increasingly adopting Fintech solutions. According to Capgemini’s 2017 World Fintech Report, 50.2% of customers have already opted for at least one non-traditional financial firm. It is clear that for financial firms to cater to today’s digital natives Fintech offerings are a must.
Wearables augmenting FinTech
By 2018, the global Wearable devices market is projected to reach $20.6 Billion, and the financial sector is slowly waking up to this opportunity. Here are some statistics which reinstate the positive outlook of the banking industry towards Wearables.
If done right, Wearables present a plethora of opportunities for the financial enterprises. However, it will be imperative for organisations to take into account the evolutionary limitations of the technology and devise solutions to provide innovative and customised offerings for their customers.
Five tips on building successful and long term Wearable solutions
1) Wearable devices have limited space — make the most out of it
While creating wearable solutions, developers face a major challenge of making a useful and a differentiated solution within the limited space of the Wearable devices.
The first and the most critical step towards overcoming this challenge is to understand the end user well. One such example is Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd which introduced the first ever trading smartwatch app for the Indian markets. The app comprises limited but select features like live market updates, portfolio updates, market position updates, etc. which are of prime importance to the trader and investor community. Limiting the number of features to only the most critical ones makes the app easy to use and also adds value to users with its real-time updates.
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2) Security is the key, make it robust
While building Wearable solutions for the financial services industry, security of sensitive financial data remains a major concern for most of the developers.
Fortunately, innovations are being made to deal with the security threats. For instance, GPS technology and biometric identifiers are being coupled together to make unauthorised payments or access nearly impossible. Even the methods of data encryption are also changing to strengthen the security measures. For e.g. Cryptosecurity organisations such as the FIDO Alliance are continuously developing new authentication methods for password-less security options like voice and fingerprint verification.
3) Innovate to stand out
According to a survey, when it comes to Wearables half of the millennials feel that there is little difference in the products and services their bank offered and the offerings of other banks. Creating innovative solutions can be a major factor for getting your customers to use your solutions.
Some forward thinking financial firms are working towards building differentiation through innovation. For e.g. YES Bank, one of the leading banks in India introduced some interesting industry first features in their like one touch bill payment, hands-free complaints registration, on the go bill payments from Wearables, etc. on their Mobile solution.
4) Solve real problems and don’t be a vanity technology
Today’s customers are connected 24X7 across multiple devices. However, they want each of their devices to perform distinct functions. For instance, most users might use mobile for research and desktop for a final purchase. Similarly, Wearables can be just as a reminder or tracking device for them.
Therefore, it is important for organisations to understand what do users seek from their Wearable solution and address that need, rather than just adding another vanity technology in their portfolio.
5) Seamless integration across platforms
It is important to understand user’s engagement with each of the multiple screens they use and develop seamless experiences across devices. Understanding user journey across platforms is imperative to achieve this.
While the future of Wearables in Fintech is still unfolding, it is certainly not a trend to be ignored. With all the hype around Wearables, it will be interesting to see how the financial sector adapts to this newbie. However, for the Financial sector, this is the right time to get into Wearable Tech when the risk is low, and opportunities are ample.
Get a detailed view on why Fintech is the future of financial services, how Wearables are augmenting the Fintech space and key lessons from financial enterprises which built successful Wearable solutions. Download our free ebook.
Also read: Why Fintech Should Seize Opportunities In Wearable Technology
Author — This article is written by Surabhi Ghosh Chatterjee. Surabhi is our soft spoken Marketing Communications Manager with an extensive experience in B2B marketing in the tech domain.
