6 Breakthrough Technologies Transforming Financial Services in Scotland – Scottish Business News

The growing popularity of embedded finance – tech that allows traditionally non-financial platforms to integrate services around financial products such as loans and insurance – is beginning to redefine the standards that consumers hold for financial services in Scotland. 

While clients used to have to go through the lengthy process of filling out forms and waiting for approval when they wanted to borrow, embedded finance has now given everyone access to credit with just a few clicks of a mouse. 

Traditional financial institutions will be under pressure to craft their own embedded finance offerings or form partnerships with popular purchase finance providers.

Financial institutions are among the most heavily regulated kinds of organisations in the world, and compliance is a source of difficulty among even the biggest names. Because the consequences of not following financial legislation can be so severe, there’s a huge demand for services that can make regulatory compliance that much simpler.

Though in-person shopping took a hit in recent years due to the pandemic and cost of living crisis, it certainly didn’t disappear. Many businesses still attribute a large portion of their cash flow to transactions handled in physical, brick-and-mortar premises. 

With the continued proliferation of smartphones, wearables and other tech, modern consumers are increasingly expecting merchants to accommodate a preference for digital wallets over cash and plastic payment cards. 

The ease of use offered by mobile digital wallets has driven a huge wave of adoption among businesses. The majority of modern POS systems now offer digital-wallet-compatible ‘tap and pay’ options, and countless eCommerce brands facilitate Google Pay, Apple Pay, etc for online purchases. 

Though blockchain technology has been in use for more than a decade now, the world is seeing a slow but certain emergence into mainstream business, with financial institutions leveraging it to guarantee ever-higher levels of security. 

Today, artificial intelligence and machine learning are hugely disruptive pieces of tech in countless different industries, and the world of finance is no exception. 

Aside from improving the standards of customer service through chatbots and virtual assistants, financial organisations have been able to use AI and machine learning to crunch huge reams of data to find trends, detect and prevent fraud with greater reliability, and make more informed decisions when carrying out risk assessments. 

As consumers and businesses rush to adopt new tech, the finance industry as a whole will have to reflect these changes with processes that are more efficient, flexible, and reliable. 

We hope this list of breakthrough technologies has helped you understand your own organisation’s place in the global business arena, and to better predict the big changes on the horizon.

David Irvine, the author, is a journalist who specialises in financial services and global markets.