Host of the wildly popular Couchonomics with Arjun podcast and respected member of the fintech, Arjun is one of the most qualified voices to speak on the changing nature of the finance industry.
As regulators and innovators around the world scramble to stay on top of new technology and identify upcoming trends, Arjun joined Vuk Zlatarov for the first episode of The Future of Financial Services Podcast to shed some light on what he believes will be the most exciting areas in the fintech ecosystem.
Open Finance
Open finance is trending across the globe as an exciting, fundamental advancement in the way that our population interfaces with banking and finance. However, even Arjun is quick to accept that there are a few obstacles that stand in the way of widespread adoption.
Regulations form the infrastructure of many of our transactions, and many players feel that without regulations to govern a space there’s no benefit to entering it. However, Arjun believes that innovators need to work ahead of regulators, as the regulations should be built around what the market needs and not the other way around.
Open finance is set to open a floodgate of innovation, perhaps from brave fintechs. But this might force banks to re-evaluate their business model and reconsider their position within the wider financial ecosystem— an ecosystem that is rapidly gearing away from many of the traditional structures governments and banks have relied on for, literally, millennia.
Decentralized Finance
DeFi carries the promise of producing incredible innovation and transformation within a short amount of time, believes Arjun. Most excitingly, there are already over 90 central banks currently working on producing their own central bank digital currency, or CBDC.
The boom in interest in digital currency spurs on a greater interest around cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology as a whole. Arjun believes that while the future of other cryptocurrencies might be uncertain, Bitcoin has a promising path ahead.
He also views stablecoins as an interesting prospect, but only if they manage to fulfil the description of being “stable”. These exciting topics underscore one of Arjun’s true passion points: the underserved majority of the small & micro enterprises worldwide.
Small & Micro Enterprises
SMEs make up the bulk of any economy. They can employ up to 90% of the workforce and be responsible for as much as 50% of a nation’s entire GDP.
Even so, in Arjun’s view, SMEs are a grossly under-served market that holds tremendous potential for growth. Arjun lists financing, payroll systems, and digitization capacity as ways in which the SME is severely underserved by banks and fintechs.
However, he also admits that there is progress being made towards this on a global scale, ranging from a company called OakNorth in the UK, to the widely recognized Shopify, fintechs are partnering with banks to serve the under-served SME masses like never before.
Conclusion: What’s The Outlook?
Overall, Arjun believes the future of the financial services sector is bright, with the long-overdue changes set to bring about more innovation, greater financial inclusion and exciting financial products that will serve both financial service providers and their customers in ways that make a difference.
HolyWally is thrilled that we can be a part of bringing The Future of Financial Services Podcast to listeners globally and contribute to the positive evolution of this industry sector by empowering companies to build their ideal digital wallets more cost-effectively and efficiently than ever before.
If you would like to remain at the cutting edge and maintain your competitive advantage in this rapidly evolving space, get in touch with us to find out how HolyWally can help your organisation.
