Putting the consumer first: How competition in the FinTech sector is driving more choice and better experiences

By Siri G. Børsum, Global VP Finance Vertical Eco-development & Partnership at Huawei

Over the years, we’ve become increasingly aware of how important financial health is to our lives – and the pandemic has amplified the conversation more than ever. With fewer reasons and opportunities to visit physical buildings, consumer behaviour has quickly shifted. People are recognising that remote banking was a reality and that the fundamentals of safety, control and access were all very possible in the current digital banking landscape.

Consumers’ needs have developed – they are expecting more than traditional nine-to-five bricks and mortar bank access, but want real-time finance services with a simple and efficient user experience from the comfort of wherever they are and whenever they need – this is where apps and the growing FinTech revolution comes in.

The FinTech Revolution

There has been an on-going movement, accelerated over the last year, where we’ve seen many traditional high street banks start to adopt digital strategies and move their focus to technology – out of necessity, but also in line with consumers’ changing needs. This has primarily focussed on moving traditional services to website capabilities, and then onto the small screen to be accessible by various devices – however, FinTech takes this even further as it is born from mobile and is consumer needs driven, making for an even easier user experience when it comes to finance services.

At Huawei, we are dedicated to always bringing consumers an easier and richer experience, and have identified the need to prioritise offering consumers more choice, and in turn, more control, to give them the tools they need to effectively look after their financial health. Our AppGallery app marketplace provides a wide range of local and global banking and FinTech apps for consumers, giving them a range of secure and convenient financial services options to make finance decisions simpler than ever before.

Customer experience needs to be at the heart of what we, as an app provider, banks and other finance companies, offer consumers to ensure financial health for all – this is why business partnerships are crucial. More competition between companies brings consumers more choice and, in turn, better access to the services and products which work best for them. At Huawei, partnerships are key to enable us to make our vision of offering financial health to all a reality, and collaborations with a diverse range of FinTech apps, from mobile payment solution Bluecode to payment tool Bill Kill, mean that we can offer consumers everything they need from a financial services perspective. It’s vital for the finance industry to meet the needs of consumers – who are now used to being able to access information about anything they want at anytime, anywhere thanks to the internet, mobile apps and targeted content – by making the most of the tools available to us now and the trends we can see happening around the world.

Three of the main consumer truths for brands to bear in mind when considering the customer experience are:

1. The majority of us are connected to a device 24/7
2. Insights and data have the power to shape experiences
3. Technology is always driving innovation

These truths should play a key role when it comes to meeting consumer needs effectively, and have already helped bring about the growth in FinTech, a category which saw Europe’s largest venture capital investment in 2019 at over $9 billion – more than enterprise software, health and energy that year. Europe’s FinTech growth is driven by consumers’ increasing trust in electronic payment systems, with online banking becoming one of the most popular payment methods in Europe.

Despite this continued growth, market dynamics and the permeation of innovative FinTech solutions in Europe are nowhere near what they are in China.

The Latest Innovations

The continuous rise of smartphones and mobile shopping means the FinTech revolution is in full swing in China, particularly in the digital payments field. Digitisation has brought about a disruptive change in online and offline purchases and Chinese consumers have been particularly willing to adopt FinTech services – by 2016, 40% were already using new payment methods which helped to drive the initial boost of FinTechs in China.

The solutions offered by the country are simple for consumers to implement, meaning that Chinese consumers’ lives and opportunities to take control of their financial health are easier than ever before – and European consumers deserve the same access to technological solutions so they too can start transforming their financial lives.

Underpinning China’s FinTech dominance are leading domestic technology companies prioritising customer journeys and setting out simple yet effective consumption ecosystems which use data to improve financial services, providing more comprehensive customer experiences than traditional players.

The country’s booming FinTech sector is also driving innovation, leading to better technology and therefore enhanced consumer experiences – and Huawei is pioneering some of these innovations in Europe, using learnings from China to make the most of the opportunities to improve customer experiences using technology.

For example, open banking – allowing access and control of consumer banking and financial accounts through third-party apps – is a phenomenon that has developed incredibly quickly in China, driven by the country’s digitally connected middle class. AppGallery offers apps such as card-connecting app Curve and money and banking app manager Bankin’, amongst many others, giving consumers access to open banking services to make looking after financial health easier than ever before.

With 78% of China’s smartphone users having adopted mobile banking apps, QR code payments are common and becoming more popular than cash and cards in all major retailers, shops and restaurants in China, where consumers can use their phone to pay by scanning a QR code, meaning a more seamless payment experience for customers. AppGallery recently partnered with the mobile payment solution Bluecode, developed in Austria – and since February 2021, Bluecode has been available for Huawei users via AppGallery and Huawei Wallet, allowing them to make contactless payments with their Huawei smartphones via QR codes in applicable merchant stores, and making the digital payment experience for consumers, as well as retailers, easier than ever before.

With the success of China’s digital payments industry, traditional high street banks are becoming less prominent in a mobile-first society – and we are starting to see the same trend happening in Europe, escalated by the pandemic.

The Future of Banking

With mobile payments forecast to grow by 24.5% between 2021-2026, we at Huawei believe that mobile capabilities are crucial to future banks as demand for alternative payment solutions grows.

Going back to the first consumer truth – that we are connected to a device 24/7 – this is a chance for both banks and consumers to benefit from the opportunities offered by mobile technology. It enables banks to reach more individuals, offering their customers access to additional services, and using data to provide helpful and personalised finance solutions.

This disruption in the finance sector will enable new players to compete in a market that was previously dominated by traditional systems, and this increase in competitive behaviour will encourage the development of new and better services which will ultimately benefit consumers.

At Huawei, we are playing a key part in this by supporting smaller organisations, as well as larger ones, both at a local and a global level. From payment tool Bill Kill in Norway to Santander in Spain or interbank network Bancomat in Italy we are championing FinTechs who can bring cutting edge innovation and better customer experiences to the table that both consumers and finance service providers can benefit from, no matter the size of the FinTech. More competition in the industry means more alternatives, and more choice – ultimately allowing more people to take better care of their financial health.