TGIF: Fintech vs. Techfin
Updated: May 27, 2018
In this fast-paced technology-driven era, numerous new terms have come into play and became popularly used, including Fintech and Techfin.
Fintech is often confused with Techfin for their similarity. However, there is a striking contrast between the two. Although not explicitly mentioned, Alibaba's Jack Ma was the first that coined the idea of Fintech and Techfin. In 2013, Ma said, “There are two big opportunities in future financial industry. One is online banking, where all the financial institutions go online; the other one is internet finance, which is purely led by outsiders."
According to Ma’s statement, Techfin falls into the former description and Fintech the latter. Fintech companies would think technology as the foundation of an entirely new financial concept that offers end-to-end solutions. They are startups that could potentially disrupt established players. Their start point is technology, not finance.
Popular Fintech enterprises in the US are Wealthfront, Acorns, and Ethereum. In Indonesia, there are DOKU, Bareksa, and Ruma. On the other hand, Techfin is all about offering technology solutions for existing financial institutions such as banks. Techfin firms focus upon technology enhancement rather than total transformation. They are now moving toward data-driven strategy.
"Everything we do will be driven by data. Using data analytics and predictive technologies, we will help customers know what they want before they even think about it," Anthony Thompson of Atom Bank said.
Sources:
Financial Times
Bai
Harnham
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