The New Order

Part one of our feature focuses on what Fintech is already bringing to the table. We take a look at how e-wallets and digital payment services are bringing us closer to a cashless society.

- Neda Al-Asedi

The last couple of years have been exciting for those involved in the FinTech industry, with new advancements completely transforming the way technology has been integrated into global financial systems. Adoption of revolutionary technology often leads to revolution in the way society works, and it’s no different with the adoption of advancements in FinTech.

The advent of e-payment and e-wallet systems in the past couple of years has shown unprecedented and exponential growth, especially among tech-comfortable millennials who make up a large percentage of today’s workforce the world over. And with any new technology, where there is a large influx in user adoption, there is large potential for change in the way society operates.

MONEY ON THE MIND

Worldwide, leading the way in the e-wallets and digital payment industry are two of the biggest global players, WeChat Pay and AliPay, which sees more than 600 million active users thanks to high adoption rates in China’s fast-growing mobile payment scene. An estimated 47% of China’s population uses digital wallets as their preferred payment technique, making it the number one choice in the country, beating out the more traditional methods of cash and credit cards. In China, exclusive usage of e-wallets has become so widespread, that even street food vendors and night market sellers accept WeChat Pay and Alipay, breaking through the misconception that e-wallets can only be used at e-commerce websites and physical brick-and-mortar stores.