by Editorial Staff | Feb 7, 2022 | Northy Letter
Perhaps you’ve had a tight schedule last week or weren’t able to keep up with our blog daily posts which cut across entertainment, culture, fashion, food, relationship, local news, and more. However, worry less, because there is good news for you. Sit back and relax as we got you covered in this Northy Letter.
Monday
The first working day of the week is often filled with responsibility and excitement for those who seem to be doing something worthwhile. On the other hand, it’s a day filled with pain, heartbreak, and frustration for the unemployed and those trying to optimize their job search.
If you belong to the second group, it’s about time you learn the top skills employers are looking for, to put an end to your fruitless job search.
Moreover, if you happen to be an employer at a company or own a business, revolving to meet a large range of audiences with your products and services easily, would effortlessly skyrocket your business growth. In response to this check out these 15 must-have apps for business owners.
Furthermore, irrespective of your status in life, it’s advisable to attain balance by sticking with the advice provided by Munirah Hashim in her recent article; After reading this, you will stop saying yes to everything.
Tuesday
Subsequently, have you heard about big data? There is more to big data than you can think of. Big data is a field that treats ways to analyze, systematically extract information from, or otherwise, deal with data sets that are too large or complex to be dealt with by traditional data-processing application software. Therefore, to learn more, continue reading about what you need to know about big data.
In addition, upgrade your knowledge base concerning financial services by reading about What is Fintech, an informative article compiled by Farouk Kabir.
Wednesday
Furthermore, to get yourself active while chasing your dreams and goals you need to pay quality attention to your health and wellness— Health is wealth. Therefore, 5 exercises that will help you improve your body posture is one of the wellness practices you need.
Also, if you experience frequent stomach upset, don’t hesitate to find out about those effective and natural remedies to stomach aches.
Thursday
How well do you know about certain notable histories? That’s why you need to sit back and enjoy reading about how the Nigerian first Hausa newspaper came into existence. Gaskiya ta fi Kwabo, an ingenious northern newspaper, which arguably created the standard of contemporary Hausa writing, which mixed both the Hausa form of writing using Arabic letters known as Ajami and the Roman form of writing to carry along two kinds of literates in the colonial Hausa days— continue the read on the History of Gaskiya ta fi Kwabo, Nigeria’s first Hausa newspaper.
Friday
Oftentimes, the color of our clothing influences how others view and relate with us, either delightfully or with disdain. However, as a man, some colors aren’t appropriate for you and might tarnish your good intentions if worn. So, what are you waiting for to check out those colours men should stop wearing?
Saturday
Besides, do you feel the one you’re in a relationship with isn’t the right one for you? If yes, clarify your doubt by checking out signs that show you are not compatible with your partner.
Sunday
Interestingly, to stay alive we must eat. However, eating the same type of meal regularly isn’t enjoyable. Hence, spice up your diet by learning professional ways of preparing other meals such as How to Make Potato Porridge and How to make Tuwon Alabo.
That’s a wrap! See you again next week.
by Umar Farouk Kabir | Feb 1, 2022 | Tech & Innovation
Have you heard of fintech? I bet you have, but if you haven’t, this is the perfect place to get yourself properly acquainted. So, what is fintech?
Fintech is simply a fancy word that stands for financial technology. Financial technology, or fintech for short, describes the technology that seeks to upgrade and automate the use of financial services.
Fintech describes any firm or organization that provides automated financial services through software or other pieces of technology. This includes mobile payment apps and cryptocurrency.
Many fintech services are designed to link users’ finances with any technology that creates ease of use in any financial transaction. Fintech is now a global phenomenon seeing as how it has entirely changed the way customers access and use their finances. People are now able to pay tuition fees, pay bills, invest, and buy properties all online from the comfort of their homes using nothing but a laptop or mobile device with an internet connection.
Understanding Fintech
It is used to help organizations, business owners, and consumers to manage their financial operations better by employing software and algorithms that are used on computers and smartphones.
Fintech came into light in the early 21st century; the term was at the time, applied to the back-end systems of banking institutions. The paradigm has shifted since then. Now what you see is a more customer-oriented service. To name a few, the technology now includes various sectors like academia, retail banking, crowdfunding, and investment management.
Fintech also supports cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.
Generally, financial technology can apply to any innovation in how people transact business. An example is the advent of digital money and mobile banking apps.
Fintech Users
There are generally four major categories of users for fintech:
- B2B for banks
- B2B and Business clients
- B2C for small business establishments
- Consumers
Mobile banking trends, increased information, data, more accurate analytics, and decentralization of access will create opportunities for all four groups to interact in heretofore unprecedented ways.
Does Age Have a Role to Play in Fintech?
The answer is yes! Customer-oriented fintech is mostly targeted toward millennials given a huge size and rising earning potential margins of that segment. The younger you are, the more likely it will be that you are conversant with what fintech is, and probably its inner workings.
Most Popular Ways Finetech is Being Used
Below are some of the most popular ways fintech is being used:
Companies like GoFundMe, Patreon, and others showcase the range of fintech outside of traditional banking.
Crowdfunding platforms allow internet connection and app users to send or receive money to one another on the platform and have allowed individuals or businesses to accumulate funding from a variety of sources all in the same place.
Look at it this way; nowadays, instead of going to banks to seek out loans and other financial support, some people go to investors for such support. They present their projects and get the necessary backing. The rapid increase in crowdfunding platforms is a testament to its success.
2. Blockchain and Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is a unique type of fintech with the potential to change the financial sector globally. Cryptocurrencies provide a more liquid, fast, secure, and seamless medium of exchange. With the fast pace rise of fintech, it will be a thing of wonder to see how digital currencies and their blockchain technology further evolve in the following years.
3. Mobile Payments
It is not farfetched to say that nearly everyone in today’s world owns a smartphone. With the increased sophistication of smartphones, fintech is able to take advantage of this more smoothly.
Did you know that according to statista data, the global mobile payment market has surpassed the $1 trillion mark set back in 2019?
There are very popular online mobile payment services these days such as Venmo and Apple Pay.
4. Insurance
Yes, Fintech has managed to make inroads in the world of insurance! In fact, it is now being called insuretech, cheeky right? Insuretech covers everything from car insurance to home and data protection.
5. B2B (Business to Business)
Before the introduction of customer-oriented fintech, businesses sought out loans and other financing aids through banks directly. But now, businesses can easily go get loans or other financial services through mobile technology.
Furthermore, cloud-based platforms and customer-relationship management services like salesforce provide B2B services that allow companies to utilize financial data to help improve their services.
6. B2C (Business to Client)
It only makes sense that fintech has many business-to-client or ‘B2C’ applications. Applications that allow clients or users to transfer money via the internet or mobile technology such as PayPal, Venmo, and Apple Pay are widely used and trusted around the world. Then you have finance budgeting apps like Mint which allows customers to manage their finances and expenses.
Regulation of Fintech
Financial services are one of the most heavily regulated sectors globally. It is not a shock that regulation has arisen as the primary concern among governments as fintech companies slowly take over.
As technology is being integrated into financial services processes, regulatory issues for such companies have increased in number. In some cases, the problems are a result of the technology itself. In others, they are a reflection of the tech industry’s impatience to disrupt finance.
For instance, automation of processes and digitization of data makes fintech vulnerable to cyberattacks. Recent instances of hacks at credit card companies showcase the ease with which bad cybercriminals can gain access to systems and cause irreparable damage. The most important questions to ask for consumers in such cases will pertain to the responsibility for such attacks as well as misuse of personal information and important financial data.
Check out how you can protect your devices from cybercriminals.
Conclusion
Now that you’ve learned what fintech is all about, I am sure you now realize that it isn’t so difficult to grasp. Basically, it’s something that you and I have been using for quite some time now, and it provides so much comfort and efficiency. As technology advances, so will fintech. In the not-so-distant future, we are indeed bound to witness fintech blossom in its diversity and practical uses.
Fintech is indeed the future of finance, and the future is here!
Be sure to leave a comment down below to tell us what your thoughts are on fintech.
If you like this article, you will also like the 10 Best Expense Tracker Apps In 2022!
