If you were to ask your grandmother about the good old days when “banking” meant standing in a queue that moved slower than Wi-Fi on a bad day, all you would get is a bunch of groans and sighs. Those were simpler & sadder times. Then along came fintechs and money became mobiles, payments got faster and wallets became apps. Fintech short for financial technology takes finance, adds some coding, a splash of innovation and makes money fun again. Fintechs have turned our everyday transactions into smooth swipes and taps. Need to split the dinner bill? One Paytm transfer and your friendship is saved. Need a loan? There’s an app for you that decides your creditworthiness faster than Usain Bolt running a 100m race.

Across the globe, fintechs have redefined convenience. From tiny startups in Nairobi powering mobile banking for farmers to billion-dollar apps in Silicon Valley helping you invest in space tourism, fintechs have transformed finance like never before. No more boring branch visits, no endless paperwork, just your phone and a simple app. Even traditional banks are now trying to “get up with the times”. They’ve started launching apps, chatbots, and digital wallets to adapt to the fintech environment. Fintechs have also brought a culture of financial literacy, making people care about their credit scores, crypto, and cashback offers utmost devotion.

But of course, it’s not all smooth sailing. With great tech comes great hackers. Security breaches and scams remind us that fintech isn’t foolproof. Fintechs still have miles to go before they can sleep. Still, these innovations have made finance faster and fairer. So yes, fintechs have dramatically changed the world and anyways who knew that one day, your phone would be your bank, your broker, and your best financial therapist? Welcome to the age of fintechs where money moves faster than your excuses for not completing your homework!

– Kabir Sahni