Financial Technology, or FinTech, burst onto the startup scene in Southeast Asia a few years ago promising to transform the way financial services are delivered. In 2020, FinTech moved from the fringes to the mainstream with more media attention and even its own FinTech publications. Telum spoke with five senior journalists to understand their interest in FinTech and views on the big FinTech stories for 2021.

Poovenraj Kanagaraj, Deputy Editor, Business Today 
At Business Today, the FinTech segment that truly caught our interest was the new payment gateways that were coming up for both the SME and education segments. Respective players like Revenue Monster and Nium for instance have played an important role in utilising financial technology. FinTech is no longer just about e-wallets. The pandemic has definitely pushed existing players to push the boundaries. To us, the topic of FinTech has mostly surrounded e-wallets but now with the pandemic, we are seeing FinTech penetrate new segments, particularly education. That’s refreshing to see and cover as well. And with more focus on SMEs now and definitely in 2021, I foresee new innovative FinTech solutions to aid the segment to offer a more seamless experience for users in their respective countries.


                                                                                     _{Poovenraj Kanagaraj, Deputy Editor, Business Today} 
   
Tania Perera, Editor (Content Lead), FortuneZ
I am most keen on crypto and blockchain among the sub-sectors of FinTech. We have been seeing many new developments in that arena. It can only continue to take off and that to me, is something we can all look forward to. The key trends I think will pop up in 2021 will be open banking and autonomous finance.


                                                                                          _{Tania Perera, Editor (Content Lead), FortuneZ}

Liyana Samsudin, Editor, Rnggt
E-payments and e-wallets are my most anticipated trends as 70% of the Malaysian population have started to practice cashless payment methods. Also, it's worth noting that Malaysia has nearly 40 e-wallets while China only has one or two e-wallets. FinTech reporting, in general, is witnessing a wider application of FinTech across various sectors, but the improvements that could benefit the beat would be more data on the application and use case beyond brief launch details and aims. Given that COVID-19 has tremendously redefined how finance works, I’m foreseeing crowdfunding and lending to be two 2021’s top trends.


                                                                                          _{Liyana Samsudin, Editor, Rnggt}

Anis Shakirah Mohd Muslimin, Content Specialist, CompareHero.my
My interest goes to mobile wallet applications and robo-advisors in large because they are both booming sectors so it's interesting to stay updated or keep track of the development of both sectors. As for challenges, there are limited resources to cover all the different facets and updates since it is so extensive and there's always something new happening each week. But it is worth noting that there are major shifts across a long period and generally speaking, more players are coming into the industry from across the sub-sectors. My prediction for the two top trends of 2021 would be digital banking and robo-advisors.


                                                                              _{Anis Shakirah Mohd Muslimin, Content Specialist, CompareHero.my}