Fintech continues to gain traction in the Asia Pacific
(APAC) as more organizations are beginning to realize the potential technology
brings to finance and banking, especially with ever-evolving customer
preferences. There are over 6,000 fintech startups in Asia alone, and this
number is set to continue growing.
In 2020, the fintech sector saw the highest amount of users
in Asia, with over two billion people using digital payments.
So what’s happening to banking and finance jobs?
According to Statista Digital Market Outlook, the number of
fintech users in Asia is expected to increase to over three billion by 2025.
India and China make about two-thirds of global users when
it comes to mobile payments, while Southeast Asia (SEA) is quickly growing as
fintech startups promise better digital payment services.
With the growing increase of digital and mobile payments,
banks now realize their biggest competitors are fintech companies, including
digital challenger banks (DCBs). And the only way they can deal with the
competition is by embracing technology itself — failure to do so will only lead
to them ceasing into irrelevance.
The rise of fintech startups in the region would see a demand
for skilled tech talent for fintech jobs as well. Currently, Southeast Asia is
facing a huge shortage of skilled tech workers as businesses look to embrace
new technologies. As such, most companies are looking to outsource tech talent
to help them in their adoption of technologies like fintech.
Will fintech make banking and finance jobs irrelevant?
Whilst banks and other industries adopt fintech, there is a
concern that current employees in the banking and financial services industry
(BFSI) may soon find their skills irrelevant or out of date. Fintech solutions
can complete manual processes a lot faster and with more accuracy, making the
need for human labor less important.
This is already happening in Southeast Asia (SEA) as some
banks are shutting down physical branches around the region. As fintech offers
the convenience of digitalized services, the need for physical bank branches is
proving to become far less important to customers.
For example, HSBC closed most of its branches in Asia as it
relooks its strategy with customers moving to digital channels. The bank said
that 90% of all customer contact is now digitized over the phone or the
internet with the pandemic also speeding up digital payments and reducing the
usage of cash.
Fintech jobs on the rise
As banks close down physical branches, naturally, concerns
about unemployment amongst banking professionals are rising. Accountants,
finance managers, and bank tellers are some of the roles in the financial
industry that are slowly being replaced by technology.
For example, fintech solutions have replaced most manual
processes that were done by finance and accounting staff in the bank.
Technologies like robotic process automation and the adoption of artificial
intelligence-based solutions have also sped up most of the repetitive tasks in
the industry.
According to Associate Professor Dr. Nor Shaipah Abdul
Wahab, Acting Head for the School of Accounting & Finance at Taylor’s
University, the introduction of tools like blockchain is set to elevate the
accounting profession by being able to offer strong protection of the client’s
information, which in turn makes fraud and the lack of trust a thing in a past.
Although technologies like this may still be new to some, it
is crucial to note that accountants can greatly rely on blockchain to keep up
with the demands of clients and offer a wider range of services.
“Everyone is moving forward, and the accounting sector has
to be up-to-date as not only will these technologies improve efficiency, but
also enable the processing of vast volumes of data. The future of the
accounting sector will greatly be dependent on those who are technologically
and financially savvy as they will be able to provide valuable insight and
assist senior leaders in making informed decisions that are based on data,
analysis, and insights across auditing, taxation, and other units parked under
the accounting sector,” said Dr. Nor.
Adapting to disruption with upskilling essential for BFSI
talents
Dr. Nor added that it is no longer an option, but a
necessity for accountants of tomorrow to be impactful in their workplace.
Future accounting graduates must be prepared to adapt to disruptive
transformation in the sector as fintech will not go away.
“The accountant can no longer think that their role is
limited to accounting ledgers or tedious tasks. Manual payments and invoices
will be brought to pass as cloud-based accounting, blockchain, and accounting
software solutions will be here to stay due to these being able to manage risks
better and improve efficiency. It is safe to say that fintech will continue to
impact the accountancy practice through the opportunity of better insights on
forecasting and analysis from powerful tools and data access,” added Dr.Nor.
Tech companies are also understanding the concerns
universities have, especially in meeting requirements for fintech jobs. To help
produce graduates that can adapt to new technologies at work, larger tech companies
like AWS, Microsoft, Google, and Dell are already working together with
institutes of higher education to train more graduates. This includes providing
adequate training and reskilling skills to not only students but graduates and
the workforce at large.
There is no denying that some roles will be replaced by
technology. But for now, employees need not fear being replaced, and find ways
in which they can improve their repertoire of skills.
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