FinTech innovations are hard to come by. The competition is fierce and there are thousands of companies that do the same thing you want to do. To succeed, you have to find your own voice and recipe. With this list, you can find out what currently sells and adjust the strategy and the product accordingly.

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FinTech innovations you want to know about

There are many trends in the industry, some of which we have already covered. In an article about innovations improving customer experience, we have covered things like the adoption of chatbots, increasing demand for artificial intelligence (A.I.), cloud adoption and more. The thing is there’s a truckload more and not all of it can be covered in a single piece.

The key to differentiating yourself now is to look for the road not yet taken. If there’s a niche out there, use it. Explore it, quickly build a minimum viable product (MVP) to test the idea and conquer the market with the next steps. As Reid Hoffman, a known investor used to say: 

“If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”

Find, explore, experiment. There are fields such as the vast pool of the unbanked, Generation Z, or even verifying contractors, where FinTech could make a real difference. For inspiration, you can check our list of TOP 20 FinTech Companies & Startups to Watch in 2021 and then read the current follow-up.

The most innovative FinTech startups

FinTech innovation takes many forms. Look how these companies make it happen.

1.         Trusple. The company generates a smart contract. The moment a buyer and a seller upload a trading order on a platform, the digital paperwork is done. The process is fully automated and lets both sides of the agreement track and verify trading orders. It also secures information about the transaction; no one can tamper with it.

2.         Tally. It’s an automated debt management service. Users have to scan a credit card and then the service opens up. Tally lets people prioritize monthly payments, pay bills, and eventually get out of debt. The company claims that on average users get rid of their debts 10 years faster than under “normal” market conditions, with options provided by other companies and traditional banks. 

3.         AZA. California has Silicon Valley, Kenya has Silicon Savannah. AZA is a direct market for African currencies. The product eliminates the need for intermediary trades that are often very costly (in Africa, even up to 8% of the transaction!) and inconvenient. Currently, the company manages over $1 billion in annual transactions. By the way – we helped in the development process.

4.         Riskified. The company offers an AI-powered platform for e-commerce. It helps separate legitimate customers from fraudulent requests. With features like dynamic checkouts, chargeback guarantees and alternative payment processing options, Riskified is an interesting business partner for anyone who owns an e-business. Did we mention pre-authorization solutions? No? Well, they got it too. They got it all! 

5.         Billtrust. The product is dedicated to payment cycle management and helps transportation, manufacturing, distribution and business services sectors. The company wants to boost the invoice-to-cash process, help automate cash flow and product enhanced operational efficiency.

6.         Symmetrical.AI. A truly groundbreaking product for employees and managers. Employees can get their monthly payments on demand, with an option to make them weekly paid. Users can also apply for employee loans and use the services of an automated financial advisor. With new economy models (especially gig economy or provisions of services built around projects) and changing expectations, Symmetrical.AI can be a handy tool for millions around the world.  

7.         OneMillion. Despite its name, the startup can earn much more than just one million. With it, users can handle their cryptocurrencies in a few different ways. The product even has its own crypto called MONx. OneMillion is actually an ecosystem, composed of four platforms: TradingSystems, Shop, Partners and Tokenize. The goal of the startup is to have an ecosystem for every type of transaction that cryptocurrency owners may need. You can spend your crypto, invest it or tokenize the business. 

8.         Booste. It simplifies the process of getting financing for e-commerce. It’s another interesting proposition for the sector and one worth considering. The startup runs in a revenue-based financing model, which means that it links the amount of the fee with the expected revenue of the company getting the help. Among others, the platform is integrated with Google, Facebook, and Shopify. In the revenue-based financing model, the company decides what percentage of monthly income will be turned over as loan repayment. That gives organizations capital and much-needed flexibility. 

9.         Billon. This startup delivers a distributed ledger technology (DLT) for a business of any kind. Under one roof, it connects transactions made with national currencies, document storage and identity management. Billon, as one of the first companies in Europe, tokenizes national currency based on the license of virtual currency. The company enables companies to scale and go through digital transformation quickly. It offers to turn the national currency into cryptocurrency fast and with security in mind.

10.      Pitchbook. In today’s world, information is everything. That’s why this FinTech innovation can be interesting for companies, investors, and financial advisors. Pitchbook provides fundraising information, diligence research on private market intel, and source investments.

Make a difference by finding your own way

FinTech innovation is made by finding a niche and sticking to it. There are far too many products to copy them literally. You need to explore new waters and implement new functionalities. You can also discover something new, just like Symmetrical.AI did. 

Either way, what you need, besides an idea and a little bit of money, is quality software. Or digital transformation services, if you’re stuck on a way to growth. With the right business partner, everything is possible.