Investors looking at wealth management services in Oswestry and Cheshire will have noticed the rapid evolution of remote banking and smartphone technology in recent years.
The expansion of digital wallets and real-time payments is fundamentally changing the global banking industry, fuelled by increasing consumer demand and regulatory shifts.
E-wallets now offer customers an alternative to traditional banking as a means of storing, managing and transferring their financial assets. There is concurrent evidence of a demographic shift towards digital wallets, with at least half of millennials and over 55% of Generation Z age groups now holding at least one digital-only bank account.
As a whole, the UK has experienced a noticeable uptick in digital wallet adoption, boosted by a benign fintech ecosystem and supportive regulatory environment backed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Companies have introduced game changing features such as instant alerts, budgeting tools and more competitive rates for worldwide transfers. This is in part the product of the UK’s Open Banking initiative to nurture competition and innovation.
Needless to say, there are concerns about the challenge of generative AI (artificial intelligence) and cybersecurity fears. Asset and wealth managers have stressed that the protection of digital wallets is vital when they are home to so much sensitive data. Indeed, IBM’s 2023 data breach report showed cyber-attacks disproportionately impact the financial services industry.
While modernising existing and obsolete banking infrastructure poses a major challenge to banks and fintech companies across the globe, the good news is that enhanced security features such as tokenisation and biometric authentication have helped alleviate worries about identity fraud.
