Finance is said to be, “ultimately the business of collecting, storing, processing, and trading in information, unbounded by geography.” Periods of exponential growth in finance are commonly due to advances in the use of technology within the sector. With increasing reliance on financial technology in today’s world, the International Monetary Fund published an article highlighting the broad impact, financial inclusion, and technological risk associated with advances in financial technology.
Financial technology is moving forward in ways that effect both consumers and firms. One of the most notable outcomes from the intersection of technology and finance is the increased quantity of people around the world who have access to financial services. The increased ability for companies to process transactions and the increased ability for consumers to use financial services is helping increase economic efficiency. While this is a positive effect, the increased use of technology that manages valuable private information comes with increased security risks. Increased dependence on financial information needs to come with increased emphasis placed on information security. Breaches in security will be disastrous for users and economic prosperity. Financial technology advancements will be most impactful if the need to mitigate information security risk remains a top priority.
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2016/09/narain.htm