Finance - Walrath Recruiting, Inc.

Industry Spotlight Banking/Finance - Walrath Recruiting, Inc. This week we will be looking into the banking and finance industry. This is an industry that is constantly changing, both from governmental shifts as well as new expectations by customers. These are the two driving forces behind industry shifts, aided by new developments in banking technology. Read on below to find out what changes can be expected for the rest of 2016. Digital Integration This is a shift that began years ago: the digital availability of banking resources. Initially this simply meant being able to access bank statements online. However, currently  there much more offered by most banks. Expect the lines between a physical branch and a digital banking space to continue to blur. Banks will continue  to make their services as convenient as possible for the consumer. Mobile banking will continue to expand as  large companies make their mobile platforms more robust, and smaller  banks begin to breakout into the mobile area. Some industry analysts believe that banks may start to consider convenience fees to utilize services like depositing checks from a mobile device. However, with the advent of many online banking systems with competitive interest rates, its more likely that customers will be able to shop between banks to find what suits them best, and where the price is right. Continued Innovation FinTech, or Financial Technology, has continued to permeate the banking and finance industry with some incredibly interesting results. Starting with alternative payment options, companies like Paypal, Square, and Apple Pay are providing alternative payment methods for consumers. Now other parties like LendingClub and Prosper offer peer to peer lending options. Tech startup companies will continue to pop up and offer alternatives to the typical bank offerings. Expect for this trend to continue, especially because FinTech is on the rise, while traditional banking is on the decline. Some believe a start up may come along and have a similar effect  banking industry like Uber and the taxi industry. At this point only time will tell. Start ups may not be the only one looking to provide alternatives however. Teller traffic has been dropping and salaries have gone up. To address this, banks may be looking to shift their focus to online options. These new services may be similar to what FinTech companies are providing, to remain competitive. Banking with Big Data In our previous Industry Spotlight: Information Technology, we discussed the impact The Internet of Things has data access and  cloud storage. Although the effects of cloud storage are felt the strongest in the IT industry, cloud software also impacts Banking. Having such a large amount of data available means investors will expect even more thorough  forecasting analysis to predict trends. Finally, having all this data available within organizations also results in  increased security. As banks continue to build their infrastructure into the non-physical realm utilizing cloud software, there will be a focus to ensure that all that data remains secure. The same goes for all data present in cash apps and FinTech companies. Consumers will expect that their information is secure as technology continues to develop whether its a cash app or card chip. At last, thats all the trends in 2016. Did we leave any developments out? Let us know in the comments, and well be back next time looking at the industry of Engineering!