Technology platforms have tremendous potential to drive social progress. The financial technology (fintech) industry epitomises this, particularly in Southeast Asia -- where almost half of a 400 million-strong adult population do not have a bank account; while 90 million hold a bank account but lack sufficient access to investment products, insurance or credit. The significance of enabling access to financial services cannot be underscored -- financial access underpins a better quality of life, by helping families and businesses plan for everything from long-term goals to unexpected emergencies. With access to bank accounts, people are more likely to use other financial services, such as credit and insurance, to start and expand businesses, invest in education or health, manage risk, and weather financial shocks, which can improve the overall quality of their lives. In fact, the World Bank considers financial inclusion a key enabler to reduce extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. Southeast Asia is a hotbed for growth and innovation and fintech Promisingly, the past years have seen a boom in fintech startups across Southeast Asia, with growth unlikely to slow down -- according to a report from UOB, fintech funding in the region jumped more than three times in the first nine months of 2021 compared with full-year 2020, reaching a record $3.5 billion!

Many FinTech companies incorporate various methods to distinguish fraud from ordinary transactions. But it is even better to prevent fraud even before it happens. Each founder of a FinTech startup has to remember that it is impossible to prevent fraud once and for all. Your task is to prevent it from scaling. And this is a moment where technology kicks in. What are other AI-powered methods to prevent fraud in FinTech startups and companies?

Artificial intelligence is quickly changing the way fintech, insurtech and 5G operate during the covid-19 crisis and beyond. Machine learning and artificial intelligence are improving Fintech by increasing the accuracy and personalization of payment, lending, and insurance services while also helping to discover new borrower pools. Since that time the Covid-19 crisis and tragedy arose. On the one hand Paul Clarke noted that UK fintech investment slumps by 40% amid Covid-19 crisis, whilst on the other Deloitte in Beyond COVID-19: New opportunities for Fintech companies note that "As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create uncertainty, many fintechs are under stress on a number of fronts. But, as the broader economy shifts from "respond" to "recover", new opportunities may be created for some fintechs. A key question is how fintechs may leverage their unique assets and skills to seize new opportunities in the future. It could be an opportune time to think big and act boldly." Pavitra R considered the impact of Covid-19 and noted in 5 U.S. FinTech startups reimagining the healthcare industry notes that FinTech is undoubtedly shaping the face of the Health Care industry. "FinTech companies leverage powerful innovations blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning to eliminate the inefficiencies and knowledge gaps endemic to most healthcare payment plans." The likes of Nigel Wilson (@nigewillson) and Brian Ahier (@ahier) have stressed the importance of applying AI to positive use cases such as preventative medicine and improved Health Care outcomes. McKinsey in an article entitled AI-bank of the future: Can banks meet the AI challenge? " The potential for value creation is one of the largest across industries, as AI can potentially unlock $1 trillion of incremental value for banks, annually (Exhibit 1)." Source for image above: AI-bank of the future: Can banks meet the AI challenge? "While for many financial services firms, the use of AI is episodic and focused on specific use cases, an increasing number of banking leaders are taking a comprehensive approach to deploying advanced AI, and embedding it across the full lifecycle, from the front- to the back-office (Exhibit 2)" Source for image above: AI-bank of the future: Can banks meet the AI challenge?

To facilitate risk assessment and marketing, Capital Float combines AI technologies with human expertise. AI and machine learning algorithms assist the company in determining the creditworthiness of applicants, allowing them to select the appropriate form of loan for the individual. Capital Float also used AI models in its marketing campaigns to better target clients. In 2018, they bought Walnut, a popular personal finance management app, which pushed them even deeper into the credit-solutions business. They currently offer personal financing (via Walnut), business finance (including short-term loans for small enterprises), and their Buy Now Pay Later platform.

Fintech means the technology used in the financial sector including areas like insurance, investment, banking, and many more. Fintech app development, finance software development, building self-service portals, and online banking platforms are the latest fintech solutions that are now replacing traditional banking and face-to-face communications. So, people now can handle their financial actions online through an application in just a few taps. Apart from easy accessibility, fintech makes financial services more secure. Fintech offers new ways to protect sensitive customer data and manage other financial services to fintech startups and other organizations.

What are some of the key trends in financial services that will further evolve in 2021? If the first two months of this year are any indication, 2021 will be an exceptional year for fintech development, especially in regard to new funding and partnership opportunities. We wrote about some of this earlier this year: from vertical integration to embedded finance, we see new opportunities and emerging business models for both incumbents and fintech startups, propelled by technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing, ushered in by a centralized workforce and customer appetite for all things digital. But digital transformation is not just about tech disruptions, and technology isn't just about bits and bytes, just as Margaret Hamilton described the Apollo project as "a system of software, peopleware, hardware". Behind the push for digital transformation is a renewed focus on the unique characteristics that make us human.

Anyone still doubting whether fintech is disrupting Chicago's financial services industry only needs to look at a handful of recent partnerships to see that innovative technology is necessary for large enterprises to stay competitive in an ever-evolving market, lest they become obsolete. Take the following inked deals, for example. Amount -- a digital credit solution provider -- partnered with TD Bank and HSBC last year to help the two large institutions streamline their personal loan services, reflecting a marketplace that grew by $21 billion in 2018 to a record high of $138 billion, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion. Meanwhile, AI-powered financial compliance solution Ascent recently partnered with global information tech company IBM to help banks and other financial entities meet changing regulatory requirements. These types of partnerships help banks and financial institutions react to market changes and prepare for the future of finance; namely, by giving consumers more of the seamless user experiences they're used to and leveraging AI to streamline manual regulatory processes, saving valuable time and resources.

Discussing the investments and acquisitions landscape at Singapore Fintech Festival 2020, Davey states the fintech space has reached the same place with AI that it previously did with online, mobile and the cloud. "Many years ago everything had to be online, then everything had to be mobile, then everything had to use the cloud," he says. "That's where we now are with AI." However, AI being "table stakes" presents the problem of a proliferation within fintech platforms and the risk of it being poorly deployed and without significant scale at large organisations. Fellow panellist, Matt Dill, senior vice president of digital partnerships at Visa, expresses concern for what this could mean both for the fintechs seeking investment and the investors themselves.

Louis Columbus in 10 Ways AI Is Going To Improve Fintech In 2020 stated that "Bottom Line: AI & machine learning will improve Fintech in 2020 by increasing the accuracy and personalization of payment, lending, and insurance services while also helping to discover new borrower pools." Since that time the Covid-19 crisis and tragedy arose. On the one hand Paul Clarke noted that UK fintech investment slumps by 40% amid Covid-19 crisis, whilst on the other Deloitte in Beyond COVID-19: New opportunities for Fintech companies note that "As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create uncertainty, many fintechs are under stress on a number of fronts. But, as the broader economy shifts from "respond" to "recover", new opportunities may be created for some fintechs. A key question is how fintechs may leverage their unique assets and skills to seize new opportunities in the future. It could be an opportune time to think big and act boldly." Pavrita R considered the impact of Covid-19 and noted in 5 U.S. FinTech startups reimagining the healthcare industry notes that FinTech is undoubtedly shaping the face of the Health Care industry. "FinTech companies leverage powerful innovations blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning to eliminate the inefficiencies and knowledge gaps endemic to most healthcare payment plans." The likes of Nigel Wilson (@nigewillson) and Brian Ahier (@ahier) have stressed the importance to apply AI to positive use cases such as preventative medicine and improved Health Care outcomes. McKinsey in an article entitled AI-bank of the future: Can banks meet the AI challenge? " The potential for value creation is one of the largest across industries, as AI can potentially unlock $1 trillion of incremental value for banks, annually (Exhibit 1)." Source for image above: AI-bank of the future: Can banks meet the AI challenge? "While for many financial services firms, the use of AI is episodic and focused on specific use cases, an increasing number of banking leaders are taking a comprehensive approach to deploying advanced AI, and embedding it across the full lifecycle, from the front- to the back-office (Exhibit 2)" Source for image above: AI-bank of the future: Can banks meet the AI challenge? The Covid-19 crisis is a challenge both in terms of human health and also to the Fintech world.

Louis Columbus in 10 Ways AI Is Going To Improve Fintech In 2020 stated that "Bottom Line: AI & machine learning will improve Fintech in 2020 by increasing the accuracy and personalization of payment, lending, and insurance services while also helping to discover new borrower pools." Since that time the Covid-19 crisis and tragedy arose. On the one hand Paul Clarke noted that UK fintech investment slumps by 40% amid Covid-19 crisis, whilst on the other Deloitte in Beyond COVID-19: New opportunities for Fintech companies note that "As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create uncertainty, many fintechs are under stress on a number of fronts. But, as the broader economy shifts from "respond" to "recover", new opportunities may be created for some fintechs. A key question is how fintechs may leverage their unique assets and skills to seize new opportunities in the future. It could be an opportune time to think big and act boldly." Pavrita R considered the impact of Covid-19 and noted in 5 U.S. FinTech startups reimagining the healthcare industry notes that FinTech is undoubtedly shaping the face of the Health Care industry. "FinTech companies leverage powerful innovations blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning to eliminate the inefficiencies and knowledge gaps endemic to most healthcare payment plans." The likes of Nigel Wilson (@nigewillson) and Brian Ahier (@ahier) have stressed the importance to apply AI to positive use cases such as preventative medicine and improved Health Care outcomes. McKinsey in an article entitled AI-bank of the future: Can banks meet the AI challenge? " The potential for value creation is one of the largest across industries, as AI can potentially unlock $1 trillion of incremental value for banks, annually (Exhibit 1)." Source for image above: AI-bank of the future: Can banks meet the AI challenge? "While for many financial services firms, the use of AI is episodic and focused on specific use cases, an increasing number of banking leaders are taking a comprehensive approach to deploying advanced AI, and embedding it across the full lifecycle, from the front- to the back-office (Exhibit 2)" Source for image above: AI-bank of the future: Can banks meet the AI challenge? The Covid-19 crisis is a challenge both in terms of human health and also to the Fintech world.