Fintech sector is cashing in

Fintech is the cool and edgy buzz word of the business world right now. While the phrase itself, which is short for financial technology, was first coined in the 1980s, it has only become common parlance outwith the close confines of the financial services sector in recent years.

So what does it actually mean?

To my mind, fintech can be used to describe any company bringing forward a market-disrupting solution in the financial services space.

They are the firms which are ripping up the rule book about how money is handled and moved and developing new, smarter ways of delivering financial and banking services. Take cheques for example.

For centuries, from the times of Ancient Rome no less, lenders issued and cashed cheques.

Cheques had their flaws – security and the time it could take for transactions to clear being just two – but their popularity grew as a reliable and recognisable monetary bond.

But in recent years hand-written and cashed cheques have all but died out as better, safer and quicker forms of money transfer have proliferated.

The fintech revolution is behind that change, but it is no one-trick pony.

The way we save, invest, pay for goods and services – the way we even think about money – is evolving faster than at any time in human history.

Edinburgh and Glasgow are recognised as Scotland’s major fintech centres but, as this month’s edition of Business Matters proves, the sector is vibrant here too.

A survey this month by industry body TheCityUK named Fife as the fourth largest financial services hub in Scotland, with annual revenues of £460 million and supporting more than 7,000 jobs.

July’s Business Matters takes a look at some of our local fintech influencers – large and small, old and new – and speaks to industry body FinTech Scotland about the support being provided to the industry as it continues to grow and innovate. Enjoy.

The way we save, invest, pay for goods and services - the way we even think about money – is evolving faster than at any time in human history

The internet has sparked a revolution in banking and financial services.