What’s next in fintech? Three predictions for 2023
Here are three trends that will drive the next wave of innovation in fintech
The past year marked a significant milestone for enterprise fintech.
Despite economic uncertainty, tightening budgets and other market challenges, we’ve seen that businesses are turning to fintech now more than ever to support their highest-level business objectives – from controlling costs to boosting operational efficiency and mitigating business risk.
As we head into 2023, three trends will drive the next wave of innovation in fintech: no-code, automation and user experience.
No-code will be top of mind for procurement and B2B purchasing technology
In 2023, procurement and B2B purchasing technology vendors will need to prioritise no-code functionality to keep pace with the evolving purchasing landscape. As the volume of purchase requests and the complexity of approval workflows continue to increase, businesses will need flexible solutions that can easily adapt to their unique and evolving business needs.
Furthermore, the teams implementing procurement technology – often finance, accounting or procurement teams – are often not technical professionals, which means any Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution they choose to implement should require as little coding knowledge as possible, or firms may face a significant IT backlog.
Automation will be the hallmark of procurement in 2023
I predict that forward-looking procurement teams will continue to lean into automation in the coming year to achieve greater efficiencies and increase their ability to scale. As purchasing becomes more decentralised, procurement professionals will simply be unable to handle the sheer volume of purchase requests and approval workflows without automation in the intake-to-procure lifecycle.
Intake-to-procure solutions are critical for employees to easily initiate purchase requests and maintain ongoing visibility in the process for new software and services. Without automated systems, companies can face a significant backlog, as well as overburden their procurement team with time-intensive, manual processes. The only path forward is automation.
User experience will become the determining factor for fintech success
In the next year, the difference between the fintech companies that win and those that fail will be determined by the user experience. Intuitive interfaces and seamless user experiences have become key components in building brand affinity for enterprise fintech businesses, who increasingly depend on non-technical employees to champion their products.
As digital transformation continues to take hold, non-technical teams are stepping up to train themselves on and deploy the technology they need to do their jobs. This means that any fintech company that does not design its product with non-technical or less-technical users in mind is likely doomed to fail. The new world order will be defined by self-service and usability.
Where do we go from here?
Technology will continue to be the catalyst for innovation, and fintech is no exception. In the year ahead – and given the current macroeconomic climate – tools that leverage automation and no-code user experiences will play a key role in increasing the ability for companies to do more with their existing resources. While the future is unknown, these trends will enable fintechs to gain competitive advantage and, ultimately, drive value for their customers.
About the author:
Rujul Zaparde is the co-founder and CEO of Zip. Prior to Zip, Rujul co-founded FlightCar, where he served as CEO through the company’s acquisition by Mercedes Benz in 2016. He also served as a product manager for Airbnb.
