3 Ways Modern Fintech’s – Brim Financial, Zelle, Mint – are Succeeding with Mobile Over Legacy Banks

For years, generation after generation, young customers would be tied to their parents’ banks and when it was time for them to open a new account, they would do it with that legacy bank. That is no longer the status quo. The fintech industry has moved swiftly into consumer’s minds, and the legacy banks that we have known for so many years are struggling to keep up with the pace.

Modern fintech’s have entered the market and are shaking things up, especially when it comes to mobile banking. Brick and mortar banks are now a thing of the past, and communication and financial management through your computer, tablet or smartphone is only going to continue to progress. There are three ways in particular that fintech’s are succeeding over legacy banks when it comes to mobile banking.

Creating new features

With a fast-moving industry, keeping up with the latest technology is half the battle and it is one avenue that fintech’s have dominated compared to legacy banks. With new initiatives, fintech’s are creating what have become standard features that consumers are now accustomed to and will continue to demand for all their financial needs.

Brim Financial, a Canadian financial technology company, is one such company providing new, inventive features that will likely become standard for every credit card. All Brim credit cards have a security feature that allows card users to turn off the card themselves, without having to call a customer service representative. They also give users the ability to block foreign transactions from their phone while still being able to use their physical card.

“Consumers demand a solution that matches their lifestyle and delivers the ultimate most value back to them – flexible, rewarding and highly personalized,” Brim Financial CEO Rasha Katabi said. “Brim delivers a transformational platform and experience that was built from the ground up, allowing us to rethink our relationship with payments and loyalty and exactly how that fits into our modern society.”

Banks have struggled to keep up with the latest technology, not understanding how the generational shifts have affected how boomers and millennials manage, store and spend their money.

Providing services

It’s not just about keeping up with the technology that has already been established, but providing services that others don’t. Mint is a great example of a fintech company that offered a service that was not popular at the time. Mint was one of the first where you could host all of your credit cards and bank accounts on one site and create a proper budget, all within its website and app. Brim has also offered a budgeting tool right in their app to track and control spending specifically on the Brim credit card.

Fintech companies have been able to continually identify holes within the legacy bank system. As a result of listening to their customers’ needs, they’ve created services and features that address these issues. After the financial crisis in the United States in 2008, fintech companies were able to pounce on what was really hurting the consumer.

“We have a consumer centric approach to everything we do, and this mindset paired with our proprietary platform built from the ground up, will keep Brim at the forefront of the industry for years to come,” said Katabi. “Meeting consumers where they are today is extremely important, which is why all Brim features are available in the Brim app, available for both iOS and Android. Frictionless experiences and ease of use are guiding principles when building and designing our products. In addition, Brim is accepted everywhere in the world Mastercard is accepted and supports all major mobile wallets for ultimate convenience: Apple, Samsung, Garmin, Fitbit and Google pay.”

Evolving payment

One of the easiest and common examples of the evolution of fintech is reinventing old norms, and putting their own twist on them. The technology that has been developed for person-to-person payment is one of those norms that has evolved. Venmo, PayPal and Zelle have revolutionized the way people pay people and have made writing a check almost irrelevant. The speed, immediacy and flexibility that digital payments have made will only continue to develop as the technology grows.

Not only has fintech changed p2p payment, but they have begun to change where we purchase items and how: a marketplace for credit card points. Though the legacy banks have developed their own cards and have a point system, fintech’s have taken it one step further. For example, Brim has created a whole marketplace where customers can immediately use points they’ve earned to purchase items, from technology to food to clothes; all on the Brim app. It’s a one-stop-shop for consumers.

“We’re incentivizing people to use the Brim Card in a way that no legacy bank is able to,” Katabi said.