Financial technology is not only making processes quicker in developed countries such as the U.S. however, it also benefits underdeveloped countries like Rwanda and India. In Rwanda specifically, the article states that they have one of the fastest-growing economies in sub-Sahara Africa. In combination to its policies which support businesses and financial technology, business is more fluid than it has ever been. In this type of environment, it is very clear as to how financial technology aides and expedites financial processes. With the financial technology, individuals do not have to walk somewhere to perform financial transactions. Apparently Rwanda’s goal is to be a cashless economy. This is possibly the direction that many other countries will head into in the future, not just businesses but also consumers. In addition, India is moving to be a cashless economy, but their reason is to fight corruption, fraud, and illegal cash holdings. Their Prime Minister stated that debit and credit cards, ATM machines, and POS systems would be irrelevant by 2020. Instead, their apps called Bhim would be used to transfer money between users. This app would be linked to the Aadhar app, which is a unique identification program to incorporate thumbprints.
Link: http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2017-02-07/207756/
I agree that almost all countries are working on Fintech to make their financial industry better. And I can also see that China, one of the developing countries is making progress on Fintech, too. For example, Alipay and Wechat Pay are so popular that people do not need to bring their wallet but a phone out. They can pay by these two apps in restaurants, shopping malls and online shopping websites, too. Fintech is helping and improving our life no matter where we are.
In a country where there are fewer than 25 million credit cards for a population of over a billion, I have my doubts whether the FinTech industry will find a strong foothold?
Until the “Cash is king” mentality still remains prevalent in India, it will take years if not decades to part ways with paper bills posing a serious threat to the growth of FinTech.