• Nadeem Gabbani, Founder and CEO at Exobotics


• 02.03.2023 11:15 am
#fintech

Space exploration has led to many advancements benefiting society in a plethora of areas such as information technology, public safety, energy, health and medicine, transportation, consumer goods, and industrial productivity. It has excelled in job creation, co-operation with countries worldwide and enhanced our understanding of what we can do to protect our planet – and its benefits do not stop there.

Satellites can be used to optimise most industries, and one sector which holds great potential, despite often being overlooked in the context of space, is the Fintech industry.

Satellite data accommodates portfolio risk analysis

Satellite data is a valuable tool to assist banks and asset managers carry out portfolio risk analysis and predictions on a company’s security.

Investment firms already use satellite imagery to monitor and predict the value of hospitality and retail businesses as they can pick up metrics such as foot traffic and use this information to predict their stock prices.

The data also assists agricultural businesses in a similar way, as the high-frequency, accurate imaging in visible and infrared bands can help farmers assess their crop health. This, combined with up-to-date weather reports, also taken from space, offer the best possible situational awareness, and can be used by shareholders to watch over investments in crops.

Additionally, satellite earth observation (EO) data can further improve stakeholder mapping by precisely detailing population distributions, under consideration of their ages and socio-economic attributes. Such accurate data collected from satellites enable better comparisons to be made for analysis purposes across all industries.

Space technology enables secure payments

Over the past decade, there has been a quiet boom in start-up businesses using space technologies within the finance, investment and insurance industries, with three newly proposed businesses already arising this year. 

One of the first space projects launched within the fintech industry included the use of satellites to help provide reliable and secure financial services in remote and disadvantaged areas in emerging countries in Africa. 

The advantages of using satellites for safe financial transactions has since been expanded and are utilised more frequently in executing business operations.

As satellites communicate by using highly secure channels and sophisticated encryption methods, it makes transactions resistant to hacking and guarantees their security. Blockchain transactions can also be made to go through a satellite-ground station link, where security schemes such as public key verification can be put in place to prevent any loss of funds and unwanted transactions.

Promoting economic growth

In the face of economic uncertainty, space can play a role in boosting productivity and efficiency among businesses to rebuild the economy, optimising processes in FinTech as well as the widespread creation of jobs.

The sky is no longer the limit, space can be utilised to tackle a wide range of macro and micro challenges, and thanks to the reduction of launch costs and the ever-increasing range of high-performance, low-power, compact processors and sensors, we have found ourselves at the beginning of a new age. 

The two latest and largest boosts that space can provide for business and economic growth stem from the increased availability and variety of earth imaging datasets. This consists of RGB, IR, and hyperspectral imaging, which can fundamentally assist in the identification of optimal locations for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investments.

For some investors and financial asset issuers, the lack of reliable and scalable data in certain aspects of ESG assessments are frequently viewed as a key hurdle to the growth of sustainable investments, while regulation also imposes strict rules on risk reporting and management. The development of third-party, evidence-based, satellite-powered indicators of environmental impact can thus improve confidence and facilitate the allocation of capital in line with climate goals. 

Advanced materials specialists, GenMat, for example, use hyperspectral imaging, a technique that can be used to analyse a wide spectrum of light by collecting a large series of narrow spectral slices through it. These slices can reveal valuable information that would not necessarily be seen across a typical RGB or visible light image, and on satellites can indirectly pinpoint minerals in untapped locations, playing a crucial role in creating a novel circular ecosystem of advanced materials.

The second boost would generate from new communications capabilities, for example, 5G or 6G from space as well as the Internet of Things (IoT) from space, which will give people commercial access to data unique to their needs at an unprecedented scale.

In February, SpaceX’s Starlink project, a satellite internet constellation which provides satellite internet access coverage to fifty countries, has invited a range of customers to trial a new global roaming service.

The future of fintech and space

With greater accessibility to space and bespoke payloads over the coming years, the future of FinTech will see both new comers and established players having an increased presence within the space industry, leading to a close relationship between FinTech and space.

The possibilities, and ultimately benefits, of space for FinTech are vast. The next step is making space accessible for all.