Financial Changes to Watch For in the Future
- Estate Planning
- Virtual Assistant Banking
- Online Payments
- Virtual Banks
- Mobile Apps
Changes in the world of finance can happen in the blink of an eye. This is why experts always keep an eye on market trends. Those changes led some experts to predict the housing market crash. This led to banks losing money as people walked away from their homes. Other changes led to financial professionals losing their jobs and losing millions in the stock market. By monitoring finance trends, both students and professionals can look out for any future changes that might occur.
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Estate Planning
Anyone who has assets should also have a will in place that specifies who will receive those assets when the individual dies. As more baby boomers experience life changes, the professionals working for them must make changes to their estate plans too. Experts point to something called a gray divorce, which is when a couple divorces later in life. These divorces often cause financial hardships for the wives because they receive fewer assets and less money. Financial planning experts must work with their clients to ensure that they have their needs covered in a divorce.
Virtual Assistant Banking
It wasn’t that long ago that people had to visit the bank to deposit a check, but now they can make automatic deposits with photos of their checks taken with their phones. Banks noticed the number of customers doing their banking online and responded with virtual assistants. Those assistants can now function as part of a banking app. They can handle questions from customers and help them do basic tasks with their phones such as start a retirement fund or apply for a new credit card.
Online Payments
Computers capable of mining for bitcoin were popular for many years. As more people secured the coins and began spending their money though, the market dropped. That does not mean that virtual currency is a thing of the past though. New companies and organizations popped up to offer virtual currency that users can buy and spend or save online. They made it easier for people to shop online because they don’t need a dedicated app. Online payments of this type also reduce the risk of someone stealing a user’s financial data and personal information.
Virtual Banks
Traditional banks use a system that requires each new customer to share information such as a birth date and social security number. Those banks then run checks and will deny accounts to customers who had other bank accounts closed and those who had other financial problems. As more people looked for banks willing to take a chance on them, the number of virtual banks popping up increased. These banks require the same information, due to federal law. But they allow users who have had financial troubles get accounts that they can use to pay bills and save money.
Mobile Apps
According to Daniel Newman of Forbes, one hot finance trend for the future is the use of mobile apps. He points to Honda, which added an app that allows drivers to pay for gas via their dashboard when they pull up to the pump. Newman claims that banks will need to find ways to make their mobile apps more useful and incorporate new things for customers to do with those apps.
Concluding Thoughts
The financial sector includes everything from banks and estate planners to investors and financial planners. The professionals working in this industry or any of the related industries must know the latest finance trends. They must figure out how those future changes will impact them and their clients.
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