Fintech is the combination of two words - finance and technology. The fintech industry has come a long way. It has gone through hundreds of years of evolution to get where it is today. The following points will help you understand better how fintech has evolved:
How Fintech Evolved Over the Years?
Stage 1: The Early Days
Fintech started when technologies started globalizing financial processes. Before the introduction of technology in the financial sector, it was highly inefficient to collaborate and share information. The productivity of most financial processes relies on how quickly the information is shared.
That is why we can say that the introduction of the first transatlantic cable started the era of fintech. Another revolutionary technology that made the financial industry better is Fedwire. It was the first electronic money transfer system and used Morse code and telegraph to transfer data.
Afterward, credit cards entered the market in the 1950s. This was another revolutionary concept that transformed modern living and its relationship with banking. Now, credit cards are an integral part of our daily lives. The early era of fintech started in 1866 and lasted up until 1967.
Stage 2: Transforming Banking
We can say that the second era of fintech started after the arrival of the first handheld calculator. Jack Kilby changed the financial world completely through his invention. Handheld calculators made it significantly easier to perform calculations on the go, allowing people to perform and verify complicated computations quickly and efficiently.
Apart from the calculator, this era saw the introduction of automated teller machines, also known as ATMs in short. ATMs allowed consumers to withdraw funds from their bank accounts without visiting a branch. They automated the withdrawal process and were one of the first banking processes that required minimum human intervention.
In the final decades of this stage, the financial sector saw the arrival of the digital stock exchange, computers, and the internet. All of these technologies had huge impacts on the financial world. While stock exchanges allowed investors to trade more efficiently, computers simplified many processes in banking and finance that required a lot of effort beforehand. This era lasted from 1967 to around 2007.
Stage 3: Fintech Now
Since 2008, we have been in the third stage of the fintech industry. Modern fintech is vastly different from its initial days. Now, we have smartphones that allow users to share innumerable data with each other in multiple ways. Fintech of today relies on startups that innovate continually and come up with new ways to make finance more accessible and automated.
One of the most significant technologies we have seen in this era is the introduction of e-wallets. Not only do they simplify banking substantially but also make it more transparent.
How to Start a Career in Fintech?
A career in fintech can be extremely beneficial. It is an evergreen industry that is constantly evolving and keeping up with the changes in time. To pursue a career in this sector, you should enroll in an online MBA course.
An online MBA course will help you learn the necessary concepts such as financial accounting and blockchain safely and comfortably. Getting an MBA in fintech will help you stand out from your peers in this industry too, and make it easier for you to bag high-paying jobs.
Modern fintech requires you to be an expert in the oldest financial concepts as well as the latest technologies. You should know about financial accounting and at the same time, have knowledge of data science. If you want to get an MBA in fintech that covers these concepts, you can go here.
