Why industry players can’t help but help disruptive Fintech fix the gaps

Take a deep dive to the Fintech world and all that you come into terms with is a living memory, an experience worth sharing and probably re-engineering your approach to deploy to make a reasonable business impact.

Now imagine this! What would be the situation if the financial industry regulator facilitated ground for aggressive innovation whereby all banks, insurance firms, and SACCOs would be re-done from ground-up. Just a thought!

Imagine if all the banks, the insurers and SACCOs and more especially in the transport industry popularised in Kenya as “matatu” seized the innovative-lead from Fintech entities. What would happen?

Stretch your imagination further to think of what would happen if your bank, insurance and SACCOs out-did all Fintech companies in speed, service, convenience and cost of all the financial services.

Aha! Now with that vision, would your preference be to tighten your cling on the bank, insurance and SACCO serving you or leap to four or five Fintech companies licensed by the financial services industry to operate?

Convenience sells big

Well, some itching music in the once so threatened music industry tells it all. There is so much to learn from lessons that almost crippled the music industry as the impact of digital innovation became real. Talents within the sector were threatened by file sharing and piracy. The crisis birthed some solutions. However, these solutions seem to have taken way over two decades to realise the depth of the ‘irritant itch’ – or disruption in the entertainment music industry.

My bet would be several people would opt for convenience. Convenience sells big. The question is, to what extent is this happening?

Well, some itching music in the once so threatened music industry tells it all. There is so much to learn from lessons that almost crippled the music industry as the impact of digital innovation became real.

Talents within the sector were threatened by file sharing and piracy. The crisis birthed some solutions. However, these solutions seem to have taken way over two decades to realise the depth of the ‘irritant itch’ – or disruption in the entertainment music industry.

Well, there is no doubt that one can still download music illegally, but hardly is this a popular move. Any reason? Steadily, people have come to appreciate the essence of appreciating talents and separately, vending outlets shy-off from mix of looking over their shoulder of who they would be selling the pirated music to besides fearing sting swoop operations that bring the pirates to book.

Producing for heavy loses

Earlier on, it was much easier for pirates to download music than go out and buy a CD – a technology phased-off the market by today’s external hard discs and flash discs. This implies that talents were producing for heavy loses. Now it is easier for customers to subscribe to Sikiza tunes, Spotify or buy from iTunes among others a push that has facilitated ground for talents behind the music production to wrestle back control.

Music companies had to dismantle their old systems and not only migrate to a new digital age, but to overtake the disruptors in quality of service. Similar efforts have since been made by the movie and television industries, the percentage of internet data used for illegal downloads is thus lined to tumble.

Today owing to innovation, the music industry and indeed those investing in it thrive. How?

There is indeed some tune and dance for the financial services industry players to borrow. The analogy speaks volumes. However, the complexity of the financial services industry calls for rigorous attention.

The Fintech Summit 2018 paves ground for the next-level of engagement while Kenya embarks on the journey of a soon to be realised elaborate digitised transactions – cashless payment.

Now, the faster the old or traditional modus operandi is ditched and the regulator progresses to shape the path for the industry to take a leap into uncharted retail territory of the mama mboga (vegetable vendors) and matatu (public transport) among others initially digitally underserved by the dominant incumbents all that shall exist is only hope to stay competitive in an already disrupted financial services landscape. And this is where innovative industry players have enormous opportunity to explore.

To register for Fintech Summit 2018 click www.cio.co.ke/events-list/fintech-summit-2018/