World Youth Skills Day: How Fintech Skills Will Evolve in the Next 5 Years

Fintech is the fastest growing segment of the financial services domain over the past decade. A combination of finance and technology. Fintech has created vast employment opportunities for professionals with the right combination of skills. Fintech is also evolving rapidly with new products and platforms being introduced and existing products becoming obsolete in very short periods. A domain which began with cryptocurrencies and payment systems just over a decade back has now evolved to include digital wallets, digital assets, decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFT) and businesses like wealth management, investment and robo-advisory. 

While the rapid expansion of the industry has created enormous opportunities for IT professionals, the warp-speed evolution is demanding that professionals and new entrants equip themselves with the latest, future ready skills to keep up with the technology. So, what are the skills and technologies that will help professionals keep up with the industry over the next five years?

Fintech is a technology driven field. So technical skills are an essential component for finance professionals. This would include not only the latest in tools, technologies, and platforms relevant to the finance industry but also some knowledge of the technology trends that may have a profound impact on the industry. A recent report by McKinsey identified the key technologies and trends driving Fintech in the near future:

1. Artificial Intelligence 

2. Blockchain (and smartcontracts)

3. Cloud Computing 

4. Internet of Things (IoT) 

5. Open source, SaaS and serverless architecture

6. No-code and low-code 

7. Hyper Automation 

Further, information is the vital asset of the Fintech industry and protecting information is of paramount importance. Hence, expertise in information security (security architecture, security tools, monitoring, security audit, cryptography, etc) will continue to be in increasing demand.  

Finance industry including Fintech is a heavily regulated field in general. Hence, expertise in compliance, audit and governance is another essential tool for Fintech professionals.

While technical skills are a must for Fintech professionals, the depth of expertise required, and the associated knowledge of the overall ecosystem depends on the actual role played by a professional in the industry.

A recent paper by the Singapore Fintech Association, has identified four major roles in Fintech companies:

• Commercial Evangelists
• Technology Wizards
• Operations Champions
• Corporate Drivers

• Commercial Evangelists focus on business developments and discovery of business applications of the technology developed. Hence, they need to understand the business benefits of applying that technology and market them rather than technical depth.

• Technology Wizards are the ‘techies’ who develop and build technical solutions. Apart from deep expertise in tools and platforms, they also need to develop some knowledge of finance so that the solutions they develop are relevant for finance.

• Operations Champions are the ones who make it all work. Here, expertise in IT infrastructure, operational aspects of the solutions developed, user experience and governance issues of the technologies involved will be essential.

• Corporate Drivers focus on management of the business such as finance, manpower management and talent acquisition. They need to understand the relevant aspects of technology. For example, talent acquisition professionals must be able to evaluate applicants based on their claimed expertise in technology.

Today there are several platforms from a variety of sources including from some of the leading universities who are offering short to medium term courses to help entrants upgrade their existing skills. Most of them also tend to be online courses. Generally, they are excellent sources to get an overview of the skills landscape of the Fintech industry. However, classroom based and job-oriented offerings from specialized skill development players such as Manipal Global Skills Academy (MGSA) may be much better to acquire in-depth expertise in any of the specialized technologies. Irrespective of the source, constant learning is a must to excel in the Fintech industry.

The article has been written by Dr. Sudhendar Hanumantharao, Academic Advisor, Manipal Global Skills Academy