Written by: Joel Syder| AcademicBrits Technology keeps advancing year after year, improving the way we live and do business. One of the best things that the technology is changing is the financial element of the online world, most notably e-commerce.What used to be unavailable is now more reachable than ever. Fintech and payment innovations have greatly affected the world – they brought mobile payments, online payments, shopping online and digital money.Here is how they will continue to affect e-commerce:
1. It will help companies target the unbanked
In 2015 there were 2 billion unbanked adults in the world, according to the research done by Global Findex. Majority of those people were from developing countries. Developments in digital money and fintech enable the kind of financial inclusion that banks can't.What they do is utilize mobile devices in developing populations.Fintech offers safe and simple alternatives to regular banks and it powers a good financial inclusion in these regions. What it allows are money transfers between users, mobile payments, increases the popularity of digital currencies etc.Here are some technologies, which have been crucial in attracting unbanked adults:2. It will continue to improve digital payments
Major technology companies like Facebook, Google, Appleand Microsoftwitnessed a great rise in digital payments and money transfers in the past few years. This success can be attributed specifically to the development of fintech and payment innovations.The payment process used to be much more complicated. For a user to purchase something online, they had to stand in lines at the bank to complete the payment and everything was much slower. Now, because fintech, people can purchase products and services from the comfort of their home with just a few clicks.3. New payment companies are breaking through
Along with big and popular payment companies, there are some new payment companies finding their way and their customers. There are Payoneerand Stripe, for example. These young companies have followed the footsteps of PayPal or Skrilland discovered their own way of doing things.On Payoneer, you can pull your funds to your card without the wait necessary on PayPal. This is a huge advantage of this payment company in comparison to PayPal. Payoneer is also much more accessible in developing countries and people enjoy using it.Matt Christiansen, a Financial Manager from OriginWritings, says, “For quite some time, there was only PayPal as a major payment company. But now you have all of these options: PayPal improving its service, Payoneer constantly updating, Stripe as an excellent newcomer and much more. They are all amazing and you can easily find exactly what you are looking for in a payment company.”4. It drives technology advancements
Most of the impact of fintech and payment innovations you can notice on e-commerce platforms. They have changed and developed in the past decade from simple websites to these masterpieces of modern trade.Here is what Netflixused to look like in 2002, for example:
And what it looks like now:
E-commerce sites like Jumia, Konga, BidorBuy, WriteMyXand TakeALothave recently closed a great quarter, earning a 10 million round. Considering that they are all companies from countries in development, this is a great result and it only shows how big fintech changes are in these regions. They help improve the technology that the companies use. Indirectly, fintech and payment innovations have a greater effect on what these companies can achieve – with the ability to operate on large, global market, they can earn more money and therefore improve their business.