What to Learn After FinTech

FinTech is such a broad field that there are numerous tools and skills that overlap with the training required in other disciplines. After a person has mastered FinTech fundamentals, their next move will depend greatly on how and where they plan to apply the knowledge they've gained.

The skills required for a particular role also vary. A company that provides insurance may have a much different idea of FinTech expertise than a supermarket chain. The knowledge someone brings to a position will also likely have to include knowledge of that industry or sector.

Consider first what the phrase FinTech means in today’s job market.

What is FinTech?

FinTech is an abbreviation for financial technology. However, its use today is even broader than the technology itself. It applies to three primary areas:

1. Companies - Stripe, PayPal, and Venmo are all examples of entities that fall under the classification of FinTechs. Whereas some online resources refer to them as FinTech companies, it’s now acceptable to designate these types of entities themselves as “FinTechs.”

1. Products - The FinTech designation has been applied to financial technology products and services. Because many of these include multiple features, the terms product and service are often used interchangeably. For practical purposes, consider a company like Venmo to be classified as either one: a “product” made up of or more FinTech services.

1. Services - This is the most understandable application of the FinTech designation. PayPal, a FinTech company, offers a payment service between vendors and individuals. Platforms like these may offer various services, like overdraft protection, banking as a service (BaaS), or investment advice.

It’s important to understand that this blend of words, FinTech, is currently used as a catchall for products, services, and the companies that offer them. Stripe is a FinTech; Apple offers its Apple Pay FinTech service, among other products and services; Venmo’s mobile platform is often categorized as a product.

FinTech roles now feature in virtually every industry, but here are some of the top positions that include FinTech expertise:

• Data Scientist
• App Developer
• Financial Analyst
• Cybersecurity Analyst
• Risk Manager
• Market Analyst
• Business Development Manager

What Can You Do with FinTech?

FinTech refers to the many Financial Technology products and services you can use today and some of the companies that offer them. Consider FinTech as an umbrella term referring to three main categories:

1. Services - On a basic level, many FinTech services may be considered products, and vice versa. PayPal is a service, but the platform of services PayPal offers may be called a product itself. To simplify matters, look at services that are now commonly provided and named as such: Banking as a Service (BaaS), payment services like Venmo, and investment services like Robinhood.

1. Products - FinTech products range from the payment app you use on your smart device every day to robo-advisors and digital banking. Currencies aren’t typically referred to as products, but cryptocurrencies certainly fall into the product category as opposed to a service.

1. FinTech Companies - Organizations like Visa and Mastercard top the list of major FinTech companies in the U.S., followed by Tencent and Ant Financial in China, then U.S. companies Intuit, PayPal, and Stripe. These firms offer FinTech products or services, and people generally refer to the companies themselves as “FinTechs.”

Additional FinTech products, services, and technological innovations include wealth management, insurance (a.k.a., “insurtech”), and credit reporting/identity theft protection services.

Additional Skill #1: Data Visualization