According to a recent report by Forbes, there are now over 1,000 fintech firms, with a combined value of nearly $1 trillion. This proliferation of disruptors entering the fintech space has altered the landscape substantially. One of the most interesting outcomes has been financial institutions shifting toward considering fintech firms as partners rather than competitors. This change has created many new opportunities and innovations in the banking sector.
Digital banking branding trends include customer onboarding as an added service that begins the brand identity at the very start of the customer journey. Internet and peer-to-peer lending also continue to gain traction. Gaming is beginning to gain traction as a brand strategy and innovation that some firms are beginning to employ to differentiate themselves from the growing crowd in the fintech market space. Security and privacy also remain important components in fintech.
Avoka
This global brand has outposts in Australia, the UK and the U.S. Its current brand movements and positioning include its efforts to lead the market in frictionless sales integration and interfaces and the speed at which they can take their clients to market. Avoka is a strong presence in the cloud marketplace and is branding itself as a provider of solutions in that area.
Its brand strategy focuses on a seamless customer experience and strategic systems based upon a fully scalable and iterative cloud platform. Its competitive edge is its full-scale offering of services that are provided with a great deal of flexibility and ease of use.
Moroku
This Australian firm takes a unique approach to brand differentiation and is carving a unique place in the marketplace through gaming. Their strategy is to offer innovation in a market segment where price is often the main differentiator. Moroku brands itself as an innovator that can help its clients stand out and attract a younger clientele through gaming innovation.
The company believes that the gamification is an effective branding strategy as it creates excitement around the technology as well as heightened engagement and customer loyalty. This firm has recently been named a top one percent company in the Australian small firm fintech sector by Techboard.
Sandstone Technology
Sandstone provides all manner of digital banking solutions to its 30+ global clients in the financial institution sector. Their firm headquarters is in Australia, with offices in the UK and the Philippines. Their current brand strategy includes offering a more engaged and seamless lending solution that includes innovative products that appeal to a broader range of customers.
They are also leaders in the LIXI Data Standardisation, which allows their clients to conform to the evolving regulatory environments across the globe. This service allows Sandstone to create a competitive edge in the adherence to all global standards and regulations that affect their customer set.
New Payments Processing is another competitive edge that the firm is implementing. This process provides constant innovation and improvement to their clients’ payment processing systems, creating a more seamless and efficient tool on an ongoing basis. This allows banks to capture a larger market share and utilize receipts more efficiently.
TSWG
This Australian-based firm has recently announced their partnership with the eWise digital platform that will allow TSWG to provide their clients with an entire suite of products that are consistently branded across all platforms and will allow end users to aggregate all of their financial accounts into a single dashboard. This technology is being presented to credit unions, mutuals, and other financial institutions that want to offer their clients an omnichannel solution.