Fintech is an abbreviation for financial technology. Auto-investors, payment apps like Stripe or Venmo, and stock market apps like Robinhood are all considered to be fintech enterprises. Essentially, they’re tools or services that provide more efficient and informed online money management capabilities to digital consumers. That might mean securing your business credit card transactions, or enabling investment of stagnant corporate funds.

Whatever sector your business is in, there are likely to be fintech solutions that allow you to maintain a sleeker business model. And that’s exactly the benefit that fintech companies aim to provide.

Here’s how small business owners could leverage the power of fintech to future-proof their own company's financial management methodologies.

     1. Use fintech services for processing card payments

Cash has become a fringe fiduciary. Card payments are just more convenient for both consumers and business owners alike. Thankfully, there are a wide range of different fintech companies that provide POS technologies that allow business owners to process card payments faster and easier.

But with digital payments becoming such a big business, everyone wants a slice of the pie and competition is fierce. Stripe, PayPal, Mastercard, Payoneer, and more are tightening their screws, and greasing their wheels in hopes of being number one.

What does that mean for business owners? Well, besides bolstering convenience and customer service, you’ll likely get to enjoy lower merchant fees as well. Many fintech services also allow for convenient auto-billing, international customers, and transforming your phone into a point-of-service device.

     2. Secure loans and business credit cards from non-bank lenders

Broadly speaking, banks and credit cards are everyone's main hub for money. If you want a seasonal loan, you talk to your bank manager first. But the digital sphere is fast moving, and becoming increasingly complex by the minute, if not faster.

And non-bank fintech service providers are beginning to offer financial products that may even offer features or services that banks simply can’t. This includes services like microloans, more competitive interest rates on business credit cards, BNPL (or ‘buy now, pay later’) options, and an array of digital banking functionalities that are faster and perhaps even more intuitive or user-friendly than your traditional banking apps.

Fintech solutions and digital non-bank lenders can generally also provide a more dynamic array of financing options for business owners. So the next time you want to take out a business loan or even secure a business credit card, why not opt for a fintech company rather than go directly to your bank? These non-bank business credit and loan options may be a valuable asset for your company as we progress further into the digital age.

     3. Take advantage of analytics features in fintech apps

Beyond transaction lists and monthly statements, fintech companies aim to out-do banks by providing different user-friendly features and financial monitoring technologies. This includes the ability to generate automated analyses of your business’s financials.

On top of integrated financial analytics features in fintech apps, there’s also a growing number of dedicated accounting software that streamlines the invoicing and calculation processes for your company. Xero, Quickbooks, Freshbooks, and Neat are just a couple of these. And what’s especially useful about these fintech solutions is that they often readily integrate with any other financial management software that you may already be using. So do a little research and experimentation to see how the fintech landscape can provide dynamic financial management and analytics solutions for your unique enterprise.

     4. Boost your company’s financial cybersecurity

Cybercrime has quickly become a billion-dollar global issue. And small businesses are often the most vulnerable targets. Ransomware, compromised emails, and password attacks are growing increasingly common, so it’s worth taking time to shore up your cybersecurity systems.

Thankfully, virtually all fintech companies across the globe have taken cybersecurity very seriously when developing their digital products. Fintech companies aim to provide cost-effective solutions that include:

Protecting your online banking and payment accounts with multi-factor authentication (things like email confirmation codes, face ID, and authenticator apps).
Encrypted, tokenized digital data usage. This puts your payment data, or communications under lock & key so hacking highwaymen can’t get at it during transit.
Proactive security updates. Fintech companies must comply with various standards, like the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). So, while the information age is still in its infancy, it’ll be a relief to have someone working to secure your systems.
Anchor5. Streamline collating your performance statistics
What elevates modern fintech offerings are their readiness to recommend improvements for your business. Besides the many tutorials and guides for learning and using fintech programs, many use statistical analysis to suggest market movements, provide personalized strategies, and to identify internal inefficiencies in your enterprise.

If you’re the type of online business who provides customer support, you’ll be pleased to know that Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems readily integrate with accounting and payment processing fintech programs. With this, you’ll be able to see your company’s fiscal interactions, communications, and transactions visualised concurrently, which will no doubt better inform your financial decision-making as a small business owner.

Are your customers most active during the evening? Then you can target those hours with limited time sales, news updates, or by tailoring your company’s digital marketing strategy in other ways. By understanding the internal mechanisms and movements of your company and its customer base, however, you can provide better service or a better product, and your sales will benefit as well.

     6. Invest Your Interests

Finally, if you’re not well-versed in the vibrations of the stock market, you may have never considered investing your equity. But many investment funds enjoy steady returns of about 7% per year. Now, fintech companies like Vanguard aim to provide this benefit to people and small businesses by providing investment opportunities into managed funds and ETFs.

Using these, you’ll invest a portion of your returns each month, and the fund managers will steadily grow your equity in exchange for your buying power and small yearly fees. So, even if your bank provides competitive interest rates, by portioning your profits towards investments like ETFs, you could be able to enjoy an improved annual income.

Be sure to look into the auto-investment fintech services that are available to you in order to find one that’s the right fit for you and your enterprise.

Of all the many ways that fintech can support small business owners, the most prominent benefit to leveraging these services and products is likely to be their ease of use. Alongside providing you with greater financial freedom, fintech providers design their products and services to ensure that they make your job easier and assist in streamlining your company’s financial operations.

Take the time to identify fintech solutions (be it accounting software, non-bank credit providers, POS systems, or all the other products and services available) in order to find the right digital investments for your business today.