The financial technology (fintech) revolution is knocking on our door and a tidal wave of change is coming with it. This wave is already changing the way we do business, and will continue to bring major change in financial efficiency, nurture more businesses and break the strangle hold conventional banks and other institutions have on the industry.

Riding this new wave of change are the entrepreneurs and new ideas that are taking the fintech industry by force; new ways to make and receive payments, new currencies, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending, changes in the way wealth is managed. The fintech industry attracted $4 billion in investments in 2013; that number surged to $12 billion in 2014. Just 6 months into 2015 and that number is already over $8 billion. Many of these businesses are well past the experimental phase and are really starting to make their presence known.

This new generation of startups, entrepreneurs and innovation is dragging the antiquated financial industry into the light of the 21st century.

Financial Exclusion and the FinTech Solution

Many of the traditional credit providers for small and medium sized businesses pulled out of the market and have been slow to come back since the 2008 financial crisis. The lack of traditional funding created a void that alternative lenders and entrepreneurs alike rushed to fill, offering a better customer experience, more transparency and lightning fast turnaround compared to traditional methods.

Kabbage is one of the companies working to fill that void. Since getting their start in 2009, they have grown into the top online provider for small business loans. Credit score isn’t the only thing considered when dolling out the funds. Kabbage has changed the game by looking at the whole picture, including real-life data like social media presence and consumer ratings.

It’s also being done in a fraction of the time. Companies like Kabbage give small and medium sized businesses the funding they need when they need it at a speed that is unheard of in the financial sector. People are applying for financing and getting access to money minutes into the process.

FinTech Doesn't Care about Borders

The fintech revolution is changing the world. Billions of people are without access to the basic financial services that we take for granted. People without savings can’t send their children to school or plan for the future. Businesses can’t expand or seize an opportunity and people without insurance are forced to live in fear of an accident or illness.

The changes in fintech and newer players like the nonprofit Accion are helping to bridge these gaps. Accion is an organization that supports microfinance institutions in their work to provide financial services to low-income clients.

The fintech revolution is changing the way we do business on a global level. But Michael Schlein, President and CEO of Accion put it best. “For the two billion people currently living without formal financial access, the fintech revolution means much more than better pricing or stable credit environments – it means an entirely new, and improved, way of life.”

Accepting Credit Card Payments with Ease

If you accept credit card payments, you know the saying, “there is always room for improvement”, to be absolutely true. Square certainly knows it to be true and is taking the problem head on, making it easier for businesses to accept payments. The current mainstream process works, but it’s a clunky, slow and often a very precarious process. Square, and others are working to make it easier, quicker and more transparent.

Challenging Traditional Methods of Payment

The lending landscape and streamlining the transaction process isn’t the only thing changing. The currencies that we pay with is also evolving; fundamentally changing the way entrepreneurs do business by challenging traditional methods of payment. Cash is still king, but business is done with BizX. What is happening in the financial sector is also affecting the barter industry, placing BizX smack dab in the middle of a maelstrom of innovation and change.

Restaurants have empty tables, mechanics have open shop time, hotels have vacant rooms, and salons have open chairs; excess capacity is one thing all businesses have in common. BizX helps market that extra capacity to the community, a network of motivated buyers, for things businesses need, increasing cash flow through new business gained. The BizX community spent over 32 million BizX dollars (1-1 with the U.S. dollar) in 2014.

This is change that can already be seen with companies like Apple and McDonalds accepting AMEX points as an alternative form of payment. We also see that people are open to a new form of currency through the rise of Bitcoin. The trade and barter exchanges of the world show us that the acceptance for private currency is there and that it can be done. The change is already happening, and the technology to follow will play a major role in where that change takes us.

The new players entering the fintech industry have done an incredibly job innovating on things bankers haven’t done, have been neglecting or plain just didn’t think of. Customer service, loan approval speed and overall transparency are all major pillars for these new entrants, and people are taking notice. The fintech industry is and will continue to revolutionize, reshape, and improve the financial industry. The traditional methods of business are being challenged, and in the process an archaic industry is being forced into the 21^st century.

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