Fintech courses

What is fintech?

Fintech (financial technology) is the umbrella term used for innovations in the financial technology space, and includes the organizations and services that provide financial services to consumers using these technologies.¹ Growing at a rapid speed, fintech has affected nearly every area of global finance, and continues to evolve.

Banking executives have ranked the following traditional banking services by how much they've been impacted by fintech innovations:²

• Wallets and mobile payments (67%)
• Cards and other traditional payments (63%)
• Savings and checking accounts (33%)
• Value-added services, loans/mortgages, and wealth- and asset-management services (a combined average of 17%)

Traditional financial institutions may have initially greeted the prediction that fintech would reinvent their industry with skepticism. However, venture capital funding in fintech grew from $19.4 billion in 2015 to $55 billion in 2022. And Research shows revenue in the industry is expected to grow almost three times faster than the traditional banking sector’s between 2023 and 2028.³

Fintech offers many cost-saving solutions, which means financial organizations can look for ways to include the related technologies in their operations and ecosystems. New ideas in financial services, such as peer-to-peer lending and crowd-funding, also put pressure on established institutions to keep up, forcing them to embrace fintech solutions to improve their offerings.⁴

As far as trends in fintech go, start-ups in the financial technology space have begun to move outside of their initial boutique offering to operate at scale, with new regions such as South America and Africa emerging. Many organizations are also reimagining every aspect of their businesses, from products and services to front-end systems and back-end processes, right through to business transformation efforts inspired and supported by fintech.⁵

Careers in fintech

There are a variety of careers related to fintech, from the app and software development that realizes new financial technologies to the sales, strategy, and decision-making that surrounds it. Some examples of fintech-related careers include:

• Financial analyst: Guides businesses in spending decisions to increase profit. These professionals must understand how economic trends, new regulations, and policies will affect investments.⁶
• Blockchain developer: Develops and manages decentralized applications and creates new blockchain platforms.⁷
• Quantitative analyst: Uses quantitative methods to help companies make business and financial decisions.⁸
• Software developer: Create the computer applications that allow users to do specific tasks and the underlying systems that run the devices or control networks.⁹
• Fintech product manager: Comes up with product ideas based on research and user needs and creates a strategy to work directly with the technology team to develop.¹⁰

Why should I enroll in online fintech courses?

The fintech and blockchain markets are increasing in size, market activity, and potential business opportunities. Here are a few examples:¹¹

• More than 10,000 fintech startups were registered in the United States as of 2021
• 48% of financial institutions have fully embedded fintech into their strategic operating model
• 64% of the global population used at least one fintech app in 2019

Fintech is a fast-moving field, and a university-backed online short course will help you gain an understanding of the underlying principles of each. GetSmarter’s learning model is flexible, personalized, and well-supported, and makes upskilling or reskilling practical, attainable, and enjoyable. Learn the fundamentals of fintech and develop strategies on how to adopt this technology in the workplace.

Sources

¹Kagan, J. (Mar, 2024). ‘Financial technology (Fintech): Its uses and impact on our lives’. Retrieved from Investopedia.

²Ghosh, I. (Jan, 2020). ‘Visualizing the current landscape of the fintech industry’. Retrieved from Visual Capitalist.

³(Oct, 2023). ‘Fintechs: A new paradigm of growth’. Retrieved from McKinsey & Company.

⁴Ghosh, I. (Jan, 2020). ‘Visualizing the current landscape of the fintech industry’. Retrieved from Visual Capitalist.

⁵(Feb, 2022). ‘Overview of the fintech industry: stats, trends, and companies in the ecosystem market research report’. Retrieved from Business Insider.

⁶(Aug, 2024). ‘What financial analysts do’. Retrieved from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

⁷(n.d.). ‘Blockchain Developer Job Description’. Retrieved from Revelo. Accessed on January 11, 2025.

⁸Depersio, G. (May, 2024). ‘Quantitative analyst: Job description and average salary’. Retrieved from Investopedia.

⁹(Aug, 2024). ‘What software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers Do’. Retrieved from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

¹⁰(n.d.). ‘A guide To product management in FinTech’. Retrieved from Storm2. Accessed on January 11, 2025.

¹¹Boutté, C. (May, 2024). ‘83 fintech statistics you need to know for 2025 and beyond’. Retrieved from Siege Media.