Whats Next in Finance: Top 6 Fintech Trends for 2024

The fintech sector is undergoing a rapid transformation, and within it, intelligent automation, AI-powered advisory, and asset management have emerged as some of the most prominent trends. At the same time, past fintech trends such as blockchain integration, the use of big data and analytics, embedded banking, and neobanking continue riding the tidal wave of evolution and growth. On top of that, the global fintech market shows no sign of slowing down and is poised to reach a value of $556.5 billion by 2030.

The fintech market will persist on its rapid growth trajectory, propelled by ongoing technological advancements and evolving consumer behaviors. In today’s article, we’ll focus on fintech trends that will shape its future in 2024 and beyond, analyze their impact on the industry, and the potential value for financial service organizations. 

Fintech Market Trends for 2024

The technological aspect of the fintech industry is experiencing rapid evolution and growth, with organizations increasingly leveraging technologies such as AI and machine learning, intelligent automation, data analytics, and more. The adoption of these technologies presents a set of critical challenges for financial service organizations. 

Legacy systems, resistance to innovations, lack of adoption expertise, and other factors contribute to slower rates of transformation within the fintech industry. At the same time, these latest fintech trends shape the industry’s future and offer new opportunities for increasing the efficiency, quality, and accuracy of financial services.

1. Intelligent automation

Intelligent automation brings up new opportunities for financial services companies to deliver faster, more cost-efficient, and more accurate services. Automation technologies will have a strong transformative impact facilitating standardization and simplification of core finance processes. The deployment of automation calls for the creation of finance-specific utilities that are different from those deployed within other business functions. 

The transformative capabilities of intelligent automation are widely recognized across the financial services sector leaders. As reported by Deloitte, the combination of organizational excellence, intelligent automation, and robotics can yield a total productivity boost of 20-25% within one year. When implemented correctly, it increases the speed, accuracy, and quality of services, which is especially important for such processes as invoicing and reconciliation. 

At the same time, intelligent automation extends beyond particular processes. It has the potential for business-wide enablement of automated processes, reaching as far as the creation of automated processing centers that perform and verify the completion of tasks with minimal human interaction. The current state and the future of intelligent automation in finance are defined by the following needs:

• Increased processing speed

The timing of operations is essential for financial institutions, and it can be greatly improved as automation tools allow for parallel validation, adjustment, and calculation across multiple processes. On top of that, it enables workload balancing as automation reduces process wait times and cuts the downtimes across time zones. In essence, automation solutions can perform around the clock, reducing time zone discrepancies and allowing for a much leaner workday timetable. 

• Enhanced quality control

Standardization, consistent quality thresholds, and application of business rules will help in the identification and reduction of recurring control inconsistencies. 

• Improved quality of services

The speed, quality, and accuracy of services and information provided to business partners will continue to be a major factor determining trust toward companies in the financial services sector. By ensuring the speed and accuracy of operations, automation secures high standards of services and enhances the reputation of financial service providers. 

• Reduced physical space requirements

Automation allows for consolidation of operating locations and facilities. It greatly reduces the need for outsourcing, especially considering the seasonal nature of certain critical operations such as tax filing.

It is safe to say that intelligent automation goes beyond fintech trends as it already is one of the major enablers of success across the sector. In 2024, financial services organizations will continue to explore and harness the potential of intelligent automation and robotics to boost their efficiency and accuracy. 

2. AI-powered advisory and asset management

AI and machine learning are already reshaping personal finance management, and in the foreseeable future, AI-driven financial advisors will become commonplace. AI-powered advisors are already one of the fastest-growing fintech trends, and the utility, accuracy, and use cases for such tools will only grow. These advisors will assess user’s spending patterns and financial objectives, empowering them with personalized recommendations across a wide range of use cases:

• Budgeting

AI-driven advisors will aid in planning a budget based on users’ income and expenses while monitoring their spending habits and offering insights on potential cost-saving opportunities.

• Investing

Intelligent advisors will assist in selecting investments that align with users’ financial goals and risk tolerance. They will also keep a close eye on the current investments and provide recommendations as circumstances change.

• Debt management

AI-powered advisors will help users devise an efficient plan to settle debts swiftly. These tools will track the user’s spending, suggest cutting redundancies, and acknowledge the progress, keeping the user motivated to close the debt.

Financial advisory will become more widely accessible and useful for the general public. The era of one-size-fits-all financial advice is nearly over and a more personalized approach will be the core focus in the years ahead. Asset management, in the wider context of financial services, will also become more and more reliant on AI and ML-powered tools. 

The total global amount of wealth under management is growing steadily, approaching $4 trillion in 2024, which can be attributed to certain fintech investment trends:

• The surge of passive investing driven by growing investor awareness of the elevated fees associated with active management. 
• The expansion of digital asset management that leverages technology to automate various asset management tasks, including portfolio construction and rebalancing. 
• Alternative investments like private equity, hedge funds, and real assets are growing in popularity as investors seek diversification in their portfolios and aspire to attain higher returns. In response to this trend, asset managers are expanding their range of alternative investment offerings.

The dust of the initial hype around AI settles down and organizations come to the realization of its true potential. Companies in financial services quickly climb toward the plateau of productivity finding new ways to apply AI in the domain of financial advisory and asset management, which will continue to be one of the fintech trends of 2024.  

3. Generative AI in fintech

Generative AI models can be employed in various fintech solutions, performing tasks like fraud prevention, asset management, and credit scoring. As the capabilities of generative AI expand, financial service organizations gain the ability to apply it in an increasing number of scenarios. Let us take a look at how generative AI can impact the fintech industry in 2024 and the following years.

• Credit score and risk assessment

Generative AI helps financial services companies assess historical trends, transaction records, spending patterns, and other client data, thus enabling more informed and accurate decision-making. This can be especially useful when assessing the trustworthiness of a particular client or the reliability of certain investments. 

• Algorithmic trading 

The incorporation of generative AI transforms trading, enabling the analysis of market data trends and real-time market conditions for making informed future predictions. Algorithmic trading allows for automated and pre-programmed trading directives, encompassing factors like price, time, and volume. With this, active trading can be largely automated requiring minimal human engagement.

• Security and fraud prevention

According to Allied Market Research, the global fraud detection and prevention market reached $29.5 billion in 2022, and it is anticipated to surpass $252 billion by 2032, with generative AI playing a pivotal role in this transformation. Leveraging the ever-evolving capabilities of AI, these trained models can sift through vast volumes of transaction data, identifying unusual patterns that may signify potentially fraudulent activities. Generative AI has the ability to identify anomalies in user behavior and detect suspicious data patterns, thus acting as a preventive measure against suspicious activities.

• Advancing regulatory compliance and reporting

Generative AI offers valuable support in ensuring compliance with financial regulations and minimizing the risk of regulatory violations. It can parse through extensive financial and legal documents, while concurrently monitoring real-time updates and alterations in regulatory requirements. This capability can be harnessed to automate tasks, reduce the potential for human errors, ensure adherence to critical regulations, and ultimately steer clear of regulatory penalties.

• Personalization of financial services

As mentioned, Generative AI significantly improves the accuracy and efficiency of financial advice, particularly in areas such as investment decisions and financial planning. This can be done at scale, either for an entire business or for an individual client. AI-powered financial tools, can help analyze expenses, offer investment recommendations, manage risks, and craft tailor-made investment strategies that align with client’s unique financial goals. For example, generative AI can create customized investment portfolios that match an individual's objectives and risk tolerance, adapting suggestions as circumstances change.

• Chatbots and context-driven assistants

AI-powered chatbots and digital assistants have the capability to generate context-driven content, enabling them to assist users in tasks such as selecting investment opportunities and making complex financial decisions. More so, modern chatbots can remember the context of the dialogue with the user and maintain conversations that take previous inputs into account to generate more meaningful and useful responses. 

Naturally, the applications of generative AI in financial services go beyond the use cases listed above and will only expand with time. Generative AI will make effective financial decisions more accessible to broader audiences while empowering financial service institutions to make even more impactful decisions.

4. Blockchain integration

Blockchain technology is not a new thing, but it still continues to grow as an integral part of fintech products. Its attributes of transparency and security have rendered it absolutely essential for online financial procedures. The three most promising applications of blockchain in finance include:

1. Cross-border payments: Blockchain-based solutions have the capability to process payments within seconds, and importantly, at a fraction of the cost compared to conventional methods.
2. Lending and borrowing: Decentralized lending and borrowing platforms remove the intermediaries while maintaining high levels of security.
3. Trade finance: Blockchain has the potential to enhance the efficiency and security of trade finance by reducing instances of fraud and errors. It also contributes to the transparency and traceability of transactions.

The integration of blockchain produces a significant impact on the fintech industry. In the upcoming years, anticipate it to reduce costs and enhance the accessibility of banking services. By offering a unified data string across various systems, the digital ledger based on blockchain technology proves instrumental in reducing both operational and IT costs for companies. PwC estimates that incorporating blockchain in financial operations can save institutions approximately $20 billion annually in infrastructure expenses. Furthermore, fintech solutions built on blockchain empower financial institutions to shed outdated legacy systems, thereby liberating additional resources and creating opportunities for enhancing their technological assets. Transactions will become swifter, more economical, and more secure contributing to boosting trust and boosting the popularity of financial services organizations that adopt this technology.

5. Big data and analytics

Big data is assuming an increasingly significant role within the financial services industry. By using and leveraging extensive datasets, companies can extract valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences, enhance their operational efficiency, reduce costs, and elevate the overall customer experience. Big data, as one of the core trends in fintech, will bring forth a number of benefits and applications for financial services providers:

• Customer segmentation aids in the creation of highly targeted marketing campaigns and deals that appeal to specific customer segments.

• Fraud detection to raise trust and uncover fraudulent transactions, such as money laundering or identity theft, by analyzing transaction patterns across multiple accounts.

• Risk management through analysis of historical data. Financial institutions can enhance their risk assessment processes for investments and loans. Predictive analytics models empowered by big data can also enable more informed decision-making based on historical trends, irregularities, and fluctuations in data sets. In this regard, the benefits of big data can be reinforced by the abovementioned capabilities of generative AI and intelligent automation.

• Cost optimization in conjunction with automation. Big data eliminates the need for costly human labor while ensuring accuracy and reliability in results. Additionally, it allows organizations to promptly detect potential issues before they escalate into significant problems, saving time, resources, and reputation.

Despite its major benefits and broad scope of application, the adoption of big data in finance is not without its share of challenges.

• Legacy systems: Traditional financial institutions, often reliant on outdated mainframes, find it difficult to handle the expanding workload associated with big data. To address this, organizations must either enhance processing capacities or undertake a complete system overhaul.
• Big data, big risks: Cybersecurity remains a critical concern in banking, especially as data security regulations, such as GDPR, impose stricter restrictions on global businesses collecting and utilizing user data.
• Big data is growing too big: The sheer magnitude and variety of data further complicate matters, making it challenging for businesses to sift through the wealth of information. Although the proportion of potentially valuable data is increasing, there remains a surplus of irrelevant data that requires sorting. This necessitates businesses to equip themselves with enhanced methods for analyzing even larger datasets.

Despite these challenges, the benefits of big data in banking—offering valuable insights, freeing up resources, and saving costs—justify the risks. The key lies in unlocking the full potential of big data in banking operations.

Big data is one of the major enablers of growth and development in the financial services industry, offering cost savings, improved decision-making capabilities, and enhanced security measures while delivering superior customer experiences. As the volumes of data produced and operated by financial institutions grow, there’s no denying the value of big data and analytics as one of the biggest fintech trends in 2024.

6. Embedded financial solutions

Embedded finance solutions seamlessly integrate financial products and services into non-financial applications or products like mobile apps or websites, enhancing accessibility for customers. For instance, during online purchases, customers can utilize their digital wallets or other fintech-based payment methods, including online savings accounts.

This fintech trend originated when the financial services industry recognized the potential of offering services directly to customers without relying on traditional banking institutions. This shift prompted traditional banks to embrace embedded finance solutions, leading to the emergence of digital-only banks.

According to a report from Dealroom, the market size of embedded finance solutions is projected to reach $7.2 trillion by 2030, surpassing the combined value of both fintech startups and the top 30 global banks and insurers. The report also anticipates that this growth will be primarily driven by insurance, lending, and payments-related services, such as branded credit cards.

The trajectory of this trend is expected to persist in 2024 as more companies recognize the advantages in terms of time and cost savings associated with embedded finance solutions. A growing number of companies will harness fintech's capabilities to provide tailored financial services to their customers.

Things fintech companies should consider in 2024

As noted, the fintech industry is undergoing rapid transformation and is still subject to major fluctuations. The past years have been especially turbulent for the market with the pandemic propelling the rise of neobanks and digital assets such as cryptos and NFTs promising to reshape the industry. The emergence of digital assets, in particular, has created fresh opportunities for savvy traders. The hype for the digital assets produced a strong impact on the industry and it would be too early in the day to sign those trends off. Neobanks, in their turn, have only garnered more popularity and growth momentum from the initial pandemic boost. 

The growth in the fintech market is propelled by various factors:

• Customer behavior shifts toward digital payments and investments, as consumers have adapted to remote and contactless transactions. 
• Regulatory changes have leveled the playing field for fintech companies, enabling them to compete more effectively with traditional financial institutions. 
• Technological advancements, such as AI and blockchain, have unlocked new possibilities for fintech innovation, further fueling market growth.
• Connection between technologies will also be a massive factor in the growth of financial organizations, and the adoption of one technology has to complement the organization’s overall digital transformation.
• The need for security will increase even further as more and more transactions happen online across individuals and business entities. Blockchain, AI, and big data will be of critical importance for securing transactions and detecting suspicious activity.

Analyzing the technology trends that impact financial service providers, it is easy to notice that technologies often get intertwined, reinforcing the capabilities of one another. For instance, the application of both big data and AI-powered tools can help with fraud detection and prevention. The advancement of chatbots contributes to the growth of AI-powered advisory. Most notably, intelligent automation and robotic process automation will be at the forefront of fintech market trends, increasing efficiency, accuracy, and quality of financial operations. 

Overall, the fintech market is sure to stay dynamic and innovative, with the continual emergence of new solutions and services to meet evolving consumer needs. That is why businesses cannot pursue one trend while disregarding the rest; this has to be an all-encompassing transformation journey.

Ensuring fintech success in 2024 and beyond 

Fintech will maintain its role as a potent driver of the future. In 2024, we can anticipate a heightened utilization of blockchain, AI, automation solutions, and big data in financial institutions. Automation and integration will become increasingly refined. Consequently, consumers will gain access to more personalized services that align more closely with their specific requirements. As ongoing technological innovation continues to shape the financial landscape, companies must remain at the forefront of these changes to avoid falling behind.

The trends listed above will produce a strong impact on the fintech industry in 2024 and beyond, but the adoption of these technologies requires strong technical expertise and deep domain understanding. 

As a trusted partner to Big Four and financial services leaders, Trinetix offers vast experience ideating and creating finance and risk management solutions that introduce new efficiency standards, streamline decision-making, and elevate employee and customer experiences. Leveraging emerging fintech technology trends with a trusted partner, you can cut bureaucracy, de-risk operations, ensure regulatory compliance, and increase trust in your services.

Let’s chat and see how timely adoption of fintech technology trends can impact your business!