All About Fintech: Careers, Qualifications, Skills, And More

Personal loan in two minutes, paying from a digital wallet in a few seconds, transferring funds using Unified Payments Interface (UPI), online payment of all kinds of bills, receipt of funds from a different country through PayPal in a matter of minutes, the financial world seems to have undergone a complete transformation. Almost every minute, a new financial product/service comes about. The pace of change in the financial world is so rapid that the common person may sometimes find it challenging to keep themselves attuned to it.

Financial services delivered more efficiently using the power of technology precisely defines Financial Technology, or Fintech.

What Changes Has Fintech Brought?

As we know, banks and financial institutions have traditionally rendered financial services. The adaptation of technology in financial world has percolated to a level where one is not required to visit the bank any more:-

• Making and receiving payments has become way easier with applications like Paytm/PhonePe, etc.
• Insurance policies and premium charged by different insurance companies can be compared against each other on portals like Policybazaar.
• Information related to stocks/bonds/mutual funds/commodities is available easily on apps like Groww, Value Research, Kuvera, etc, and they also allow investing in and selling of financial products.
• As per recent reports, existing fintech companies in India have gained one-third of new revenue at the cost of traditional banks. This has also compelled banks to invest heavily in adoption of technology and deliver financial services to their customers through online/digital means. Thus, all banks now offer mobile apps, in addition to internet banking and phone banking, and also wallets such as PayZapp (HDFC Bank)
• At the same time, fintech companies like Paytm are licensed by the Reserve Bank of India to have a bank (Paytm Bank) and offer banking services.

Fintech is now one of the fastest evolving and growing industries. Blockchain technology and Non-Fungible Token (NFT) are taking the world by storm. There are now approximately 19,000 types of digital currencies available. These are exciting times for students to aim for a careers in Fintech.

Qualifications You Need

A student interested in pursuing a career in Fintech should ideally start preparing for it during their undergraduate. A degree in Computer Science or Mathematics will make it easier for an aspirant to enter Fintech, though they may pursue a career in Fintech with any of a variety of backgrounds, Engineering, Statistics, Economics, Finance, Management, Humanities, or even Art or Graphic Designing. Thereafter, one may pursue a degree or a certification in the chosen Fintech career path (Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and the like), depending upon their aptitude and interest.

Skills Required In Fintech

What are the various needs and traits one may have for someone interested in a career in Fintech? Here are a few of them:-

• Aptitude and willingness for continued learning
• Drive to work hard and keep abreast with evolving trends and new technologies
• Soft skills like adaptability and flexibility, communication skills (both oral and written), emotional intelligence, and team spirit.
• Problem-solving skills
• Analytical skills
• Programming/coding skills, financial and mathematical knowledge

Also Read | How To Improve Communication Skills: 10 Effective Tips

Fintech Careers For STEM Students

If you want to know all about Fintech, a good idea will be to begin with understanding the four cornerstones of the Fintech career path namely, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, and Blockchain. All of them hold huge potential as providers of career opportunities and jobs. Let us understand them more in-depth.

Data Science And Analyses

In today’s world, enormous amount of data is generated everyday. Every transaction, purchase, booking, subscription, travel, payment, or borrowing flows through a financial channel, leading to generation of copious amounts of data which requires analysis and conversion to meaningful information, such that it can facilitate better understanding of consumer behaviour. Some key concepts of data science are – Artificial Intelligence, Business Intelligence, Big Data, Data Mining, Text Mining, Data Analytics, and Statistics.

Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a technology to simulate human behaviour. It is the driving force behind Robo advisors and large-scale financial and wealth management platforms. AI is driving contract management solutions in the Fintech career path. It is also the enabler force behind chatbots that provide better customer service solutions, twenty-four by seven, at a significantly lower cost.

Machine Learning (ML), a subset of AI, enables a machine to learn on its own from past data, without there being a need to program it.

Blockchain Development

Fintech jobs include certain core technologies, blockchain being one of them. Blockchain is the underlying core technology for cryptocurrencies, which has opened huge avenues for Fintech professionals. Blockchain technology is a highly secure way of maintaining and recording transactions in a decentralised manner. Because of its enormous potential of being used across industries, it is likely to offer a huge number of career opportunities to aspiring individuals.

App Development

Plenty of Fintech jobs are available in fields of app development (IOS and Android platforms), as billions of apps get downloaded every year. The apps also need to be regularly updated for newer feature to keep pace with competition, which is why it requires experts in large numbers.

Plenty Of Fintech Jobs Are Available In Fields Of App Development

Full stack developers are web developers who work at both the front end and back end of a website. The process involves a combination of underlying database work, user-facing website construction, and client-focussed communication aimed at the planning and maintenance of the web portal.

Cloud Management

The enormous data being generated is now managed and stored on ‘cloud’ instead of machines, which is why cloud management skills are in huge demand. Clouds are pools of virtual resources, storage, applications, and services that are managed by computer programs so that the resources are available on tap i.e., on demand. Cloud management is a combination of software, automation, policies, governance, and people, who determine how cloud computing services can be made available.

Algorithmic Trading

Algorithms process mountains of data and line up thousands of trades in stock/bonds’/commodities’ markets across geographical locations. Fortunes of trading firms are sensitive to milliseconds and they spend millions to shave off a few milliseconds from their trading platforms. These firms need both software professionals and financial experts to write and test their computer programs and analyse data/trends to put a financial value on their trade.

Quantitative Analyses

A number of of Fintech jobs are available in fields of quantitative analysts, people who undertake large and complex financial modelling tasks. They drive big data and technology to be used by investment banks/hedge funds for trading in securities, and also undertake risk assessment.

Cybersecurity

To counter risks of security breach, loss of valuable data, loss of reputation due to cybersecurity breach and consequential damage to business (which in some cases can lead to regulatory and compliance-related challenges), companies spend large sums of money to firewall their systems, which, thereby creates huge demand for cybersecurity experts.

Product Management

A product manager in a fintech job devises the strategy and roadmap, and defines the features of a product/product line. They analyse competition and help evolve a vision for the product, its value proposition, positioning, and differentiating strategy from existing products in the market.

Apart from options that we’ve just discussed, Fintech enthusiasts may find opportunities in risk management, process change, peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding, payments/billing/money transfers. For those with extraordinary drive and experience, sky would be the limit. They may eventually carve their way to becoming Fintech leaders, strategist, consultants, or even take up the entrepreneurial route.

Other Fintech Career Paths

Does Fintech have opportunities to offer to students who do not come from a STEM background? Certainly, yes. Here are a few options for students who have a background in Commerce or Arts but yet want to work in the Fintech industry.

UI / UX And Graphic Designing

In the fintech ecosystem, the end objective is to develop innovative products to help execute transactions seamlessly, thereby enabling pleasant customer experience. Therefore, the role of a User Interface (UI)/User Experience (UX) and graphic design specialist cannot be overemphasised. These experts are involved at initial stages of product ideation and product development and play an important role till the last mile. Having a basic qualification in graphic designing would help one to begin, and basic knowledge of coding shall provide a competitive advantage.

Sales And Marketing

Financial products need to be marketed well, backed by a clear product differentiation strategy. Similarly, business development managers play an important role in Fintech organisations because of the evolving nature of this business. These experts look for new markets, new business alliances, and find ways to fully exploit market potential. They also help in product design by providing market feedback to the product design and commercial divisions.

A postgraduate diploma or degree in Marketing will be helpful for students wanting to build their careers in fields of sales, marketing, and business development in Fintech organisations.

Financial Analyses

Financial analysts manage budgets, prepare forecasts, and compile business studies, which form the basis of critical business decisions. A degree in Finance, such as Chartered Accountancy, CFA, CMA, or MBA shall enable students to begin their careers as financial analysts.

Compliance

As compliance requirements and regulatory oversight in Fintech increase, there is a growing need for compliance experts and compliance analysts in these financial companies. Compliance officers are also required to prepare legal/financial/ regulatory reports for different stakeholders.

One may become a compliance officer after completing Chartered Accountancy or Company Secretary qualification, or after acquiring a degree in Law.

Fintech, thus, is a red-hot arena and those inclined towards a career in it will have opportunities galore for a well-paying and satisfying professional life.

Pramod Nagpal is Chartered Accountant by training, (Retd.) Managing Director, Central Cottage Industries Corporation Of India Ltd. (A Govt. Of India undertaking, under Ministry Of Textiles). He holds close to four decades of experience in the areas of finance and commerce. Pramod has keen interest in the field of education, and guiding students on harnessing available opportunities to achieve their goals.