When the term “fintech” first appeared, many people assumed it was just another buzzword. Fintech has met the many diverse needs of today’s tech-savvy consumers and carved out a niche that is steadily expanding into the mainstream.
It’s critical to understand that fintech skills are no longer limited to key niche technology skills like mobile development and cryptocurrency. Fintech organizations today use all major technology stacks for the various solutions they provide. As organizations scale and grow, not only cutting-edge technology skills but also more traditional skills, are being used.
Security
Security becomes even more important as fintech organizations reach critical mass in terms of user and transaction volumes. Fintech companies understand that as quickly as users flock to them, they can leave for a competitor, and no fintech company needs or wants a major security incident.
Security skills, particularly application security and securing public cloud infrastructure, will be in high demand among fintech firms. Not only are financial transactions protected, but many previously back-office tasks, such as customer onboarding and identity verification, have now been fully digitized and are firmly front-of-house activities for users, with many onboarding via self-service processes in mobile apps.
Blockchain
Blockchain trust has been built through a long commitment to regulation, reserve ratios, and track records within traditional financial institutions. It is up to each individual user to determine whether that level of trust is sufficient, but for new entrants without decades of experience, algorithmic trust is far more appealing than other forms of trust.
Blockchain technology can be used to provide high levels of transparency and integrity for asset tracking and transactions. This provides users with independent assurance and thus establishes high levels of trust. Learning how to implement and apply blockchain technology to financial processes will be highly desirable as this market space expands steadily.
DevSecOps
In terms of processes, given the volume of new generation code in every fintech organization, it makes perfect sense to implement Agile and “everything as code” processes like DevOps. Incorporating security into DevOps, resulting in DevSecOps, is a critical enabler for fintech organizations. Most organizations that successfully implement DevSecOps experience cost savings and increased efficiency.
Adopting DevSecOps has an additional benefit for fintech organizations: compliance. Compliance as Code provides automated compliance, lowering major costs and risks for financial organizations. Fintech organizations will not be exempt from regulatory oversight, but by implementing DevSecOps from the start, at least a portion of compliance obligations can be automated and demonstrated.
Data Science, Machine Learning, and AI
Modern solutions rely on data algorithms that can interpret data and make decisions based on it for business execution. Loan approvals, credit limit increases, and risk scores can all be codified into data-driven algorithms. Moving to a decision-making model that does not require human intervention can provide obvious business benefits. Of course, machine learning and artificial intelligence have a wide range of applications, so understanding even basic concepts can help you contribute to fintech’s mission. Fintech organizations rely heavily on technology, and using data science can help them gain a competitive advantage.
Public cloud computing technologies
Public cloud technologies from major cloud service providers will continue to play a key role in enabling fintech organizations, whether you want to implement chatbot functionality or highly scalable serverless functionality to cater to rapid growth.
While high-street banks and other financial institutions can use multiple private data centers, many emerging fintech organizations must rely on public cloud offerings to achieve the same technological scale. A “leap-frog” effect of overtaking traditional infrastructures can put fintech startups ahead of traditional players by upskilling on the available services and technology from the major cloud service providers. Knowledge of available cloud services, as well as the ability to use these services securely, will be advantageous.
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