My Introduction to FinTech
A year ago, I didn’t know anything about fintech. Prior to entering the working world, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what fintech is, or what it means. But after six months as a technical writer in the fintech industry, I have a better idea about what it means. I feel proud to work in the fintech community.
Fintech stands for “financial technology.” The industry focuses on technology-informed solutions used to enable people to move funds to different places as quickly as possible. As a technical writer, I write user documentation that informs the average user how to navigate Rapyd’s APIs. The APIs are the technological solution to moving money: software that connects businesses and institutions into a global financial network.
If the developers are the stars of the fintech world, the technical writers are the staff backstage, aligning the lights, drawing the curtains, coordinating information that can be used by others. Technical writers serve as a bridge between the experts and the user base.
Rapyd views developers as their core audience, the people who work with and implement solutions using Rapyd’s APIs. One place that the Rapyd staff interacts with developers is through the Rapyd Community, an online forum where developers can ask questions and connect with others. As a moderator of this community, I engage with the discussions developers have and answer questions posted to the community.
Working at Rapyd, I was able to see how developers and technical writers can work together to form a sort of ecosystem of information that is used to create solutions to problems. Businesses want the process of getting paid to be faster and easier, and they use developers to implement those solutions for their business. Rapyd is integral to this process by providing a platform that can be used by everyone.
Fintech as a Service (FaaS)
“Fintech as a Service” is a key concept within the fintech industry. You can view SaaS, or “Software as a Service” as a predecessor to this concept, where software created by companies is utilized as a continuous service to solve a wide set of problems.
Previously, software companies used to sell individual programs that solved individual problems. But this business model fails when more complex issues need to be solved. SaaS companies offer their software as a platform instead. This platform is used by businesses or individuals to meet their needs over time.
Rapyd has taken this novel approach into the fintech industry, by offering their financial network, services, and software as a platform, or “Fintech as a Service.” Users do not own the platform, but are charged by their usage instead.
This kind of shift within the financial world has a big impact on how companies do business. Fintech as a Service allows companies to interact with financial networks and banks at a fraction of the cost. The burden to integrate with the complex international financial system falls on Rapyd instead of individual businesses fending for themselves.
Rapyd as a FinTech Leader
Rapyd is an “API first” company. This means that Rapyd prioritizes their APIs. Maintenance and upkeep of those APIs is vital to Rapyd’s success. But this also means that Rapyd views developers, the people who utilize APIs, to be central to that success.
APIs are at the center of what Rapyd does, and serve as the foundation of the company, by allowing businesses to integrate into a network that is connected to other businesses, financial institutions, gateways, and other stakeholders.
Rapyd leads the Fintech industry through hackathons, where winning teams of developers have the chance to present their projects to a wider audience of investors and developers. Our hackathon participants are from around the globe, and can use Rapyd’s global network with hundreds of local payment methods to participate in the competition. Other fintech companies host hackathons too. But what sets Rapyd apart from the competition is that they invested in a few hackathon winners, and gave those developers the funding to turn their project into a scalable platform.
Thoughts on the Future of the Fintech Industry
Fintech has the potential to disrupt the world of finance. Traditionally, banks and financial institutions had the sole sources of influence. Imagine how the world used to be, where the cost of doing international business was reserved for big business, with small to medium sized businesses getting priced out.
Fintech allows small businesses the benefit of accessing a globalized financial network. The financial interests of everyone can be met through Fintech as a Service platforms. In the future, banks will not be the only source of influence for how a business should structure its finances.
A decentralized, globalized financial system with a lower barrier of entry benefits everyone. Fintech companies provide vital infrastructure, connecting isolated financial points. This allows the benefits of international finance and cross border business to be shared by a wider group of people. Future trends in fintech will involve further decentralization and a global impact. Traditional financial networks should not be the only option for securing a healthy financial future. Fintech companies like Rapyd lead the way to make this kind of future possible.
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