Technological disruptions have changed so many things for us over the decades, from the way we communicate and do business to how we handle our finances and choose to spend them. Since the early years of the computer, technology has gotten a whole lot better.
Now, technology has taken over the financial world, making transactions and business a whole lot easier and more convenient. From making payments, handling your money, getting loans, buying stocks, investing in cryptocurrencies, and crowdfunding to data collection and auditing, everything has been made easy with technology.
Since the invention of ATMs, technology has been making its way into the financial aspect of the world. But as of today, the financial industry will probably not survive without financial technology. When people couldn’t leave their homes during the pandemic, it all came down to online transactions and payments.
According to Itay Goldstein, a professor of finance and economics at The Wharton School, “Generally, the pandemic accelerated the process of moving financial transactions online. Internet banking and other online transactions increased as a result of individuals staying at home.” This most likely sped up a process that would have taken longer to develop otherwise.
Now, let’s talk about ways that financial business has been changed by technology and how it’s benefiting our economy and humanity at large.
- Investing
One of the most important parts of the global economy is the stock market, which has been in existence for as long as we can remember. Before technology came along, stocks were written down on sheets of paper, and the investors traded the stocks in coffee shops.
Now, the stock market is more accessible than it was before. We now have markets like Robinhood that offer commission-free trades and other securities through applications on your phone.
Nowadays, there are different cryptocurrency coins that are worth fortunes that people can buy now and invest in. The digital form of currency has captured the interest of a lot of people, including business gurus, young investors, and high school students.
People have the option of utilizing their cryptos as payment or as an investment, earning a return on their capital when the price of a bitcoin in US dollars increases, much like they would with stocks or gold.
- Applications for Financial Decision-Making
Unlike when you had to do all the calculating, auditing, and sheet balancing with a calculator, there are many apps that have been built to do all these financial processes for you at a faster and easier rate.
You want to know if you are financially stable enough to take loans online from CreditNinja? You want to know how much you spend per year? Trying to manage your finances? Deciding what stock to invest in? There are several apps that can help you run all of these without stressing yourself.
There are practically software apps for everything that accountants do, using debit and credit sheets and balance sheets are so old-fashioned right now. Everything is so easy and fast now that we can Venmo money to each other without touching the money.
- Data-driven decision-making
Data, and more specifically, data analysis and decision-making, are made easy by technology. In many ways, the simplicity of data collection made possible by technology is profoundly altering the financial landscape—as well as your life.
Data are used by everyone, from banks and insurance companies to business owners. Every enterprise must have records in the form of data collections where they track every financial step taken and also help them in decision making.
Data also carries a tremendous deal of responsibility, as we have seen when hackers stole people’s personal information. Both large organizations and small companies are investing a lot of effort in data security and privacy.
The rapid growth of technology in finance has allowed people to make better decisions with their money and it has also improved the economic stability around the world. The best thing to do is to embrace the new changes and enjoy the stress-free processes.
