Industry trends are called just that because they quickly evolve. But when those trends disrupt a status quo that has been in place for literally decades, well, we have to give it credit where credit is due. Below, we spoke to two founders about processes that are contributing to a complete 360 in terms of product longevity and use cases. Essentially, they are transforming phrases like “innovation in the oil and gas industry” from an oxymoron to their main missions. Intrigued? As are we.
In 2016, if your casual acquaintance’s brother wasn’t trying to convince you to buy Bitcoin, you either weren’t in the tech space or lived under a rock. At its peak, Bitcoin was insanely profitable not because of the product itself but because of its inherent properties, including data democratization.
Well, it turns out the profitability of that characteristic extends beyond cryptocurrencies. We recently spoke to RunTitle COO Charlie Wohleber about what trends he sees moving into the fintech space and where he believes fintech businesses would benefit most.
What are the top three fintech trends you’re watching that are significantly impacting the industry?
From portfolios of art to marine and real estate investments, alternative asset classes are becoming easier for the average investor to access online. Additionally, as a title company, we’re watching the insurance space evolve through blockchain and otherwise. Lastly, we think payment processing, especially between businesses, is ripe for innovation. In the oil and gas industry, all three of these trends are in their infancy.
From portfolios of art to marine and real estate investments, alternative asset classes are becoming easier for the average investor to access online.’’
What under-the-radar fintech trends are you watching that the industry isn’t talking about?
Given the growth of investment in financial technology in the last three years, there are fewer and fewer under-the-radar concepts to explore. I believe debt collection is less of a focus at the moment than it used to be and is a particularly hard problem to solve. Even if distributed ledgers allow for payments and debt tracking, collection of funds has largely been manual.
How are these trends affecting the future of your company?
Unlike real estate, securities and more traditional finance, oil and gas has largely gone untouched by many recent consumer finance trends. At RunTitle, we’re attempting to build a central clearinghouse for mineral rights, democratizing access to oil and gas royalties. We’re hoping that the growth of investment in and adoption of fintech in other verticals helps change management in oil and gas.
Sure, you can now pay using your phone or other tech-savvy device at your local food truck or the new-concept store that just opened across the street. But how do professionals at more traditional businesses (think lawyers, accountants) step into the 21st century? AffiniPay was originally founded to help answer that question. We caught up with CEO Tom West about what electronic payments have meant for general productivity industry-wide and where he sees the trend going.
What are the top three fintech trends you're watching that are significantly impacting the industry?
One of the biggest trends in the industry is the shift from paper payments to electronic payments. Over 50 percent of B2B payments are still made by paper check, but that number is declining every day. The vast majority of customers and businesses have stated that their preferred method of payment is credit card. Payments are seamlessly being integrated into every aspect of the service delivery experience, removing traditional barriers and creating effortless, amazing client experiences.
What under-the-radar fintech trends are you watching that the industry isn't talking about?
Vertical software companies are looking for ways to monetize payments and for partners who understand their industry. ApplePay and other new payment methods are quickly growing in acceptance and popularity. Professional service markets are seeing significant productivity gains by utilizing electronic payments.
We built AffiniPay from the ground up specifically to address these trends.’’
How are these trends affecting the future of your company?
We built AffiniPay from the ground up specifically to address these trends. We continue to be at the front end of innovation in our industry, creating new solutions that help professionals accept payment. As we scale from hundreds of thousands to millions of users, our biggest challenge is continuing to deliver surprisingly great client experiences and treat every customer if they are our most important customer.
