From boosting confidence when it comes to managing finances, to breaking the taboo of talking about money, nine in ten UK consumers (88%) report that fintech apps and services have helped them, according to recent research from Plaid, an open finance data network and payments platform.
The Fintech Effect, Plaid’s 2021 annual report, found that fintech apps and services have played a key role during the pandemic as a force for good, enabling UK users to save time (56%) and money (42%), and understand their finances better (36%). This has led to greater confidence with finance among 77% of fintech users.
Crucially, it has also helped make people’s finances more social, breaking the long-held taboo of discussing money. 69% of UK respondents reported that digital tools have helped to make money more social, with 65% more comfortable discussing finances as a result of technology. Indeed, for 44%, financial tools and apps have even become a subject of dinner table discussion in the last six months.
The findings of the report coincide with Talk Money Week 2021, an annual awareness campaign run by the Money and Pensions Service designed to increase people’s sense of financial wellbeing by encouraging them to open up about personal finance.
As well as helping encourage financial discussions, fintech use has helped boost the wellbeing of UK consumers. 49% admit that they now feel more in control of their finances since using fintech, while 36% said that fintech has helped reduce fear and financial stress in their lives.
Keith Grose, Head of International, said, “With the flurry of activity in fintech funding, chatter around market valuations, and notable acquisitions in recent months, it can be easy to forget the more important role that fintech can play in improving peoples’ everyday financial lives. Helping people to manage their money during stressful times, improving convenience, and bettering the financial services experience are all of the forces behind what is driving fintechs’ success.”
