Authentication and verification of personal information are the most crucial parts of any critical procedure, like admission to a university, purchasing a vehicle, and even conducting an online transaction using your bank account. The correct verification of documents ensures a safe and secure system.

The method of collecting and verifying personal information like picture identification documents is known as Know Your Customer (KYC). 

When this procedure is carried out online or electronically, it becomes eKYC. 

The world of fintech has seen immense growth in the last few years. With people realizing the scope of technology globally, countless startups have emerged, sourcing the benefits of technology by leveling up their digital games. Influential technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, etc., have transformed how we conduct business and manage financial transactions.

Fintech has taken the world by storm, by becoming a part of our day-to-day lives. Financial institutions have partnered with third-party technology providers to create service suites that suit the needs of today’s generations. With most small and large transactions transitioning into electronic forms, it has become imperative to consider shifting services associated with finance to digital platforms.

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What is eKYC?

eKYC is the process where authorities and authorized institutions verify the personal information of customers and clients using digitalized platforms. eKYC is especially important during the onboarding process of new customers and clients. However, KYC remains an ongoing process for most financial institutions. 

In the process, new customers provide documents containing their personal information like their name, address, date, place of birth, and so on, which are collected by institutions and verified. The verification process can be as lengthy and cumbersome as required. Officials check the personal information provided against past records in different institutions, government records, the location of the address, and more. 

eKYC is the more efficient method of managing fraud and fake identities that could otherwise prove detrimental to the entire system. 

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Importance of eKYC

There are many factors why eKYC has become a crucial part of our lives today, like:

Quicker Process with Better Flexibility

An eKYC, compared to a usual KYC, gets completed in much lesser time. Digital platforms allow quick verifications by comparing and storing data on different databases. This process gives quicker and more accurate results. 

Another key benefit that is achieved from digitalized KYCs is the level of flexibility they offer owing to their quick results. Any changes that are to be made in pre-existing databases can be done, without much time and effort. Such benefits make eKYC much more relevant and essential for the fast-paced world that we live in today. 

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Reduces Risk of Fraud

As electronic KYC gives better and more accurate results, there is increased protection from the risk of fraud for banks and financial institutions. KYC is an excellent method of filtering out any outliers and unscrupulous activities that might cause damage to banks and their customers. With eKYC, the entire process becomes much more efficient, increasing its applicability.

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Better Customer Services

With eKYC, financial institutions and banks can provide better customer services that go along well with today’s digital age. With services like online banking, neo banking, e-payments, digital stock trading, etc., becoming more prominent, it has become essential for authorities to also transition to electronic platforms by providing regulatory services like KYC online. eKYC allows customers to upload their identification documents on official websites, apps, and portals. This tandem between services and technology allows authorities to verify the information provided by customers using various methods like scanned copies, freshly captured images, and biometrics.

Customer services can be improved immensely by using digital counterparts of essential services, like eKYC.
Quicker Onboarding and Merchant Acquisitions

KYC is a crucial part of new customer onboarding and new merchant acquisition. By switching to the digital version, banks and financial institutions can quicken this process, which would otherwise take longer and also distress new customers. These days, most banks have predefined targets of new customer onboarding and merchant acquisition, which are hard to achieve without the enablement of digitalization. By processing new onboarding and merchant acquisition quickly, the monthly and annual targets can be achieved in a more optimized manner.

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Part of the Digital Age

Offering eKYC services is a way for banks and financial institutions to let their customers know that they are technologically equipped and in tune with the digital age that has taken over the world. With most firms providing digital options for verification, any firm that does not provide such an option immediately conveys an obsolete system, which can be detrimental to their goodwill and standing. Enabling digital onboarding, eKYC, online banking, and more can help banks and institutions achieve a better reputation among their customers, which would eventually help them build better long-term relationships.

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No Restrictions on Location 

As eKYC can be conducted from anywhere in the world, it provides better flexibility to customers as they don’t need to show up at their home branches for verifications, account openings, etc. Such freedom attracts customers and allows a quicker turnaround time.

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Concluding Words

eKYC has become as essential as online banking itself, in today’s day and age. One of the most important factors that govern the reputation and future of banks and financial institutions is their level of integration with digitalization; the deeper the integration, the more reliable and trustworthy their image becomes. As digitalization takes over most industries, it has become imperative for businesses to put on technological capes which would help them relinquish all things obsolete and enter the new age of digitalization built on technology.

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The world is continuously evolving with changes occurring all the time and everywhere. With the advent of the internet, our world has become more connected and powerful, giving rise to countless opportunities for businesses and individuals to grow. Digitalization in the past few years has witnessed a sharp increase owing to the growing popularity of smartphones, tablets, and other networking devices.

 As more and more users adopt the internet, the need for owning digital assets is inflating. Digital assets have become an integral part of the internet, where people and businesses are investing and using digital assets to supplement their incomes or become their primary income streams.

 Digital Asset Management, long for DAM, is the process by which organizations and individuals can store, protect, share, create and retrieve their digital assets that hold value. Several aspects of digital asset management have emerged as invaluable over the past few years, where there has been a monumental rise in the usage and adoption of digital assets.

Digital asset management entails strategic software or systems that provide solutions for organizing and managing digital assets, especially for businesses. In other words, DAM is also a tool or a gateway to managing information. 

 Two main aspects are involved in successfully running the DAM process: digital assets and management solutions.

What are Digital Assets?

Digital assets are any digitalized files that hold monetary value. Digital assets can exist in different forms like:

• Images
• Videos
• Graphics
• Audios
• Documents
• Media
• Presentations
• Write-ups and more

Such digital assets that hold monetary value need proper systems to streamline their storage and production.

Benefits of DAM Systems

Organizations these days are robustly employing DAM systems to optimize their operations, where different departments are continuously interacting with each other. DAM systems have become a popular choice for most firms, as they help achieve seamless integration between departments. Some of the key benefits of DAM systems are:

• Better Control – As DAM systems are singularly devoted to the functions of digital assets, organizations employing them have better control over their digital assets. Such dedicated services help them control access and monitor platforms linked with the assets. Organizations can further ascertain how their digital assets are utilized and track all changes made, etc. 
• More Efficient – DAM systems provide a centralized solution for managing digital assets that are used for their creation, use, transfer between employees and different platforms, etc. With -target-focused solutions that provide quicker and easier access to digital assets, the overall efficiency of the organization’s setup improves, rendering better results.
• Lower Costs – By employing DAM solutions, an organization can save on hidden operational costs that are masked behind the curtains of inefficiencies like spending too much time on locating files, losing data due to systems malfunctions, etc. Such operational costs can be evaded by employing DAM systems.
• Security – With DAM solutions, the overall safety and security of data and content are substantially improved. There is restricted and controlled access, ensuring that the digital assets are not accessed by unauthorized personnel or malware. Apart from controlled access, data is systematically stored using online software that makes sure that the data or content is not lost or erased, enhancing security.
• Versatility – DAM solutions are mostly versatile, implying that their functionality of integrating with different platforms or software is very useful, making data transfer extremely easy. 

Who Uses DAM Systems?

All individuals and businesses that engage in creating, storing, and managing digital content can at some point benefit from DAM systems by increasing and optimizing their digital asset workflows. DAM solutions are mostly employed by organizations that have various operating departments engaging in data handling, like the marketing and sales department and the designing and IT teams. 

 On the other hand, in individual roles, marketers can immensely benefit from DAM solutions to organize and manage their digital content, which requires constant optimization. DAM systems can help them save a lot of time by providing automated solutions to create, store, organize and transfer digital assets in a preplanned manner.

Agencies that work with digital assets are prime contenders for DAM solutions, which help them create organized portfolios and provide better services.

The Future of Digital Asset Management

With the global attention shifting towards digital marketing, social media, and digitalization in general, the usage and creation of digital assets have blown up suddenly. This inflation has conceived a ready market for digital asset management tools that target providing services in this sector, making it viable for organizations to invest in such solutions. Securely storing, accessing, and managing digital assets has become a need now more than ever, making the future of DAM solutions gleaming with opportunities.

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Cloud computing is an integral augmentation in fintech and the overall digital world. Cloud computing takes digitalization to new efficiency levels where users are not restricted to physical devices and equipment to operate and use data. People can access, retrieve, and edit data using digital platforms from any corner of the planet. This technology has proven beneficial across different industries, products, and media.

Cloud Computing in Fintech

The fintech industry has witnessed a tremendous adoption rate of cloud technologies owing to its many benefits. In the past few years, almost 22% of fintech applications have employed cloud computing, suggesting a steady growth rate of cloud technologies in this industry.

The growth of the fintech industry is estimated to cross $120 billion by 2025, implying a tremendous scope for developments, innovations, and disruptions, making the plausibility of increased adoption of cloud technologies higher.

By employing cloud technologies, the transfer of data, APIs, and collaboration between third parties and financial institutions becomes simpler and more effective. It also opens many doors for new startups to develop and provide better cloud computing services.

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Cloud Technology Services

Cloud computing has benefitted the digital world by providing services that make the entire system more efficient, cost-effective, and suit users’ needs. The three primary service categories in cloud technologies are IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. 

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Infrastructure-as-a-Service (Iaas)

IaaS services revolve around servers, storage, network firewalls, and other resources that can be availed by the consumer on a pay-as-you-go basis. When a company transitions from physical to virtual using IaaS, it can save on the investment and upkeep cost of the equipment, hardware, etc. 

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Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)

This particular type of cloud technology offers virtual platforms for testing and managing software. It is particularly useful for developers who use PaaS services to test mobile applications, websites, etc. When availing of PaaS services, the developers can completely evade setting up and managing the infrastructure for storage and servers.

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Software-as-a-Service (Saas)

SaaS involves cloud services that enable the delivery of software applications without the users investing in the infrastructure and managing the applications. All the underlying requirements for delivering software, are handled by the cloud providers.

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The Benefits of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing has become an integral part of the fintech industry because of its practicality and usability in handling large volumes of data. It provides the perfect structure that welcomes and empowers digitalization.

Flexibility

As fintech firms are continuously evolving and changing, their requirements for dynamic infrastructures are becoming more dominant. With infrastructures, servers, firewalls, etc., becoming more agile and virtual, the flexibility for fintech firms increases, where they can change patterns, disrupt monotony, and become more empowered.

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Data Security

Cloud technologies allow the handling of big datasets and databases on their offered platforms that enhances data security. Network firewalls are one of the main USPs of cloud computing, which secures the data by providing various levels of protection, making it easier and more efficient to manage data for fintech firms.

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Scalability

Cloud technologies come with the added advantage of providing pay-as-you-go services. A firm can pay for the services it has availed instead of paying for particular packages offered by cloud providers. This way, the firm’s scalability remains empowered, where it can choose to add on or remove services as per its requirements.

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Lower Investments

As cloud computing offers software, platforms, and infrastructure in virtual environments, the investment for firms becomes considerably low. With greater flexibility and scalability, firms can upgrade or downgrade services that they have availed to suit their requirements without particularly investing in purchasing and maintaining physical servers.

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Collaborations

With cloud technologies making it possible for fintech firms to manage tremendous volumes of data virtually, it also opens doors for simple and faster collaborations between third parties and banks. Financial institutions can easily supply their data to third parties that provide fintech services, making the entire space of fintech collaborations much more efficient.

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Data Recovery

Cloud technologies must have a security system in place that takes care of data recovery and data management. Providing digital infrastructure is not enough if it does not include a data recovery plan that can recover all the stored data and resolve technological glitches.

Apart from these prominent benefits that are offered by cloud computing technologies, there are many more advantages that users have experienced, like easier data management and access, a wide scope for innovation, advanced customer services, etc.

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Closing Thoughts

Cloud computing technologies have witnessed tremendous success owing to the benefits they offer. By taking advantage of the virtual space and services, it becomes substantially easier and more efficient for businesses to manage their activities, data, and customers. 

With cloud computing becoming a dominant niche in fintech, big companies like IBM, Microsoft, and Goldman Sachs have also joined the battalion of cloud computing providers. As artificial intelligence, big data, machine learning, and the crypto industry take over the fintech space, the future of cloud computing only becomes brighter than before.

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For an average person who is acquainted with the basics of financial digitalization and is even marginally internet savvy, terms like metaverse, cryptocurrency, blockchain, NFTs, and more might have emerged more than once on their news or social media feeds. As the frequency and dominance of such jargon across all information channels increases, it becomes essential to understand or know what they mean and their roles in our lives and this world.

This article touches upon the basics of NFTs, the NFT market, and a few key trends that have surfaced in the past couple of years.

Let us first establish a basic understanding of the term- NFT.

Basic Understanding of NFTs

NFTs, short for non-fungible tokens, are digital assets; where non-fungible means that these tokens cannot be substituted by an identical item. Each NFT is a unique and irreplaceable token that can be bought, sold, and transferred from one owner to another but cannot be replaced by any other different or identical item.

In other words, these digital assets are created, sold, and owned digitally, where their value appreciates or depreciates based on a few factors mentioned in the article later.

So, unlike coins, like Bitcoin or Dogecoin, that can be replaced by other Bitcoins or Dogecoins, NFTs are unique digital assets, where each NFT possesses a different individuality and value.

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Different Forms of NFTs

NFTs can exist in many forms like audio files, documents, art, clipart, drawings, and many more. As NFTs are predominantly artwork, no defined shape, form, or structure is common for all NFTs. They can exist in any form, but most NFTs are digital artworks, including pictures, videos, GIFs (Graphics Interchange Formats), or music. People have also attempted to recreate their brain mechanisms using AI (Artificial Intelligence).

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How NFTs Work

NFTs are digital assets that majorly exist on blockchain technology; this separates them from other digital assets like pictures and videos, that are available for use and purchase on websites like Shutterstock.

NFTs can be purchased using cryptocurrency or other digital financial modes, and they exist on blockchain technologies. Most NFTs are a part of the Ethereum blockchain. 

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The Glaring Loophole

Concerning the purchase and ownership of NFTs, there is a loophole that has not only caught everyone’s attention but has also surfaced as a nuance for some NFT owners.

As NFTs are primarily digital artworks created and put up for auctions by people globally, most of these artworks have digital copies that are available online to view and download by other people.

Some NFTs have been sold for thousands of dollars, whereas a few others have surpassed the million-dollar mark. As digital assets, their values are determined by a few factors like the time and energy gone into creating them, the potential to recreate the art, the demand, and also the artist’s value. 

When people pay such hefty prices to attain the ownership of NFTs, the need for keeping them for personal use or limiting their availability for public access becomes imperative. However, the internet has massive potential and reach, leaving limited options for such obligations.

If NFTs can be copied and are available for public viewership, then, why do people see them as assets?

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The Real Value

The real value of NFTs does not lie in the complexity of the art or the skills involved, but the true value lies in the ownership of the original piece. Anybody could go ahead and download videos made into NFTs by Grime and Beeple however, the original video is only one in number and has only one owner. This barrier separates the NFT-owners from the general public that has access and ownership of the copies.

All activities about NFT transfers and transactions are stored and kept in the blockchain ledgers, which leave no space for ambiguity about the ownership rights. All NFT transactions and transfers are automatically updated and stored digitally, regardless of the number of times an NFT is transferred from one owner to another.

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The Biggest NFTs

March 2021 saw Beeple owning the NFT center-stage by selling an NFT for a stupendous value of $69 million. Ever since this success, the ball of NFT sales has started rolling by attracting millions of people globally to create, auction, sell and purchase NFTs. NFT projects like the Bored Ape Yacht Club have seen terrific success where the price of joining the Ape community is more than $314,000. 

Celebrities globally have shown immense interest in this new fad where their investments in the Ape NFTs have been for millions of dollars.

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The Growth of NFTs

After the original peak in sales last year, the sale of NFT have since plummeted. While saying that, it is also essential to point out that the NFT industry has just slowed and not failed, as May 2022 itself saw the NFT sales volumes shoot beyond $3.7 million.

By far and large, the NFT market has slackened since its first peak in 2021, but it is still steadily gaining ground. The blockchain technologies like Ethereum have also experienced a sharp descent in the past few months, owing to which the entire crypto market has witnessed a negative impact.

But this slack in the market has not deterred crypto and NFT investors, who continue to grow their portfolios, making the best of the bullish crypto market.

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Digitalization in the financial sector has accelerated expansions and developments in the past few years. The demand for innovation and novel ideas is unquenchable because of the vast scope of digitalization in the financial industry. With such inflated innovation and competition, it has become obligatory for fintech participants and leaders to abide by and comply with standards and regulations. Without set standards and regulatory practices, the field of innovation would lose direction, resulting in more damage than developments.

One of the most common approaches for regulating fintech trailblazers is by employing regulatory “sandboxes”.

So, what exactly are “Regulatory Sandboxes”?

A regulatory sandbox is an approach to testing, analyzing, and assessing different aspects of a new product, entity, business model, or any innovation under a controlled environment to safeguard the sanctity and improve the overall effectiveness of the fintech system. 

The testing and analysis under this method are similar to scientific experiments conducted in controlled and supervised setups, including both fixed and variable elements. Live testing is executed, with defined time limits and goals, under the supervision of regulatory authorities. Such live testing produces more authentic and accurate results than otherwise.

Overview

The first regulatory sandbox was tested in the UK in 2015. After seeing its impact and success, several other countries joined the cohort of establishing such sandboxes, which aimed at testing and analyzing the feasibility, usability, demand, effectiveness, and other elements of innovations. By the end of 2020, about 57 countries had established or planned to introduce regulatory sandboxes to their fintech spaces.

The concept sprouted because of the need to test novel ideas and innovations in a ‘live’ environment, which would help give more relevant results in a regulated fashion. However, as viable as that sounds, regulatory sandboxes are hard to establish because while they are required to promote innovation, they are also required to protect customer interests, the primary reason why regulatory authorities are mostly in a delicate position. 

Uses and Benefits of Regulatory Sandboxes

There are numerous benefits and uses of creating regulatory sandboxes to fintech empower innovation. 

Increased Value

By analyzing the feasibility and usefulness of new products, services, concepts, business models, and much more, regulatory sandboxes help accelerate the overall value for all stakeholders. Fintechs invest hefty amounts in studying markets and innovating new products, concepts, models, etc. By creating an environment and space that expedites the process of assessing the flaws and risks and experiencing the impact and potential of the innovation, the value of the idea, product, or service increases significantly.

Decreased Costs

Regulatory sandboxes are like airbags for investment stakeholders that prevent colossal monetary damage. Owing to the rapidly expanding scope of fintech, the level of investments in this industry is unimaginable. With companies and individuals putting such large sums at stake, it becomes imperative to release the innovations in a controlled environment that allows authentic testing and analysis to produce better results and lower costs, which otherwise would eventually lessen the enthusiasm.

Developing Associations

Regulatory sandboxes also provide immense scope to build new or remodel existing partnerships and associations. The purpose of releasing innovations and ideas in regulatory sandboxes is to study areas of potential success and otherwise, which would open doors for all types of improvements. This concept can also be used to create new partnerships or remodel old ones, to befit the new technology or innovation.

Focused Competition

With regulatory sandboxes becoming more popular among most fintech markets, the quality and level of competition have strengthened. As new participants get the sandbox cushioning for assessing their new products, it empowers them to safely analyze the product and business potential and, in turn, challenge the existing system.

Financial Inclusion

Financial inclusion of marginalized customers heavily depends on fintech’s capacity to innovate and create solutions that benefit underpowered customers. Regulatory sandboxes benefit the entire industry by giving rise to more options and probabilities of attaining financial inclusion. It also creates an open space for regulators and investors to exchange knowledge and ideas, which adds to the system’s overall health making space for better financial inclusion.

Overall Development

The development of the entire fintech industry depends on all its participants and contributors. Customers make involuntary demands that lead to innovations that eventually improve the overall system. Regulatory sandboxes create the perfect space for filtering out unwanted, unnecessarily expensive, or unfeasible solutions, which promotes the overall strength of the industry.

Closing Words

The fintech space has seen some inspiring innovations that have changed our banking methods and how we manage our finances. To protect the interests of the consumers, it is crucial to regulate and monitor all innovations closely. However, while regulations are essential, it is also important to leave space for creativity. Regulators for long have walked the thin line between strictness and creativity. Regulatory sandboxes make the perfect cushion that absorbs any massive crash that could occur, and refines the applicability and effectiveness of innovations, empowering the entire fintech system.

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Assets that exist and are operated digitally are known as digital assets. The exact definition of a digital asset has been in discussion for a long time because of the endless possibilities that this term could encompass. 

In simple terms, any digital content that has value or can be valued and owned by any entity makes for a digital asset. These digital assets can exist in any digital form, like audio, video, picture, document, graphics, text, and much more. Digital assets should either hold some value or have the potential to be valued, just like non-digital assets. Another point that is considered a prerequisite of a digital asset is that these assets should be discoverable within the metadata.

Digital Assets Vs. Regular Files

Digital assets and regular files both can exist in various digital formats. However, the underlying difference that distinguishes a digital asset from a file is whether the content holds any value or not. One of the primary attributes of a digital asset is that it holds some monetary value for the owner. 

Any graphic illustrations, write-ups, or images that hold value and can be exchanged or rented for money are digital assets. Any content that solely exists online does not add value, or does not have the potential for exchange or rent for money is only a regular file and not a digital asset.

Types of Digital Assets

–         Photos

–         Videos

–         Write-ups

–         Documents

–         Graphics

–         Illustrations/Animations

–         Logos

–         Metadata

–         Reports

–         Audio/Music

–         Books

–         Design Files

–         Presentations/Spreadsheets/PDFs

–         and many more

How are Digital Assets Valued?

Like every other asset or commodity, digital assets are valued by analyzing a few points, like the demand it creates, the time and energy spent on them, and whether or not they can be recreated.

Potential Demand

The value proposition of a digital asset depends primarily on the potential demand it creates. If the digital asset has immense usefulness, like graphics, or is an original piece of work by a celebrated individual, as a write-up by an author, it would have a potentially higher value. On the other hand, if the documents don’t have versatile usability, they would be valued lesser. 

Time and Skills

The amount of time, skills, and energies that have gone into creating the digital asset says a lot about its value proposition. A file or a piece of content that has been created over a long time, like research work, would have more contributing participants and elements that could add value.

Re-creation Ability

If a digital asset is easy to re-create, it would have a lower value compared to one that is impossible to re-create. For example, capturing images of rare meteor showers is more likely to have better value than images of a starry night, as the latter is easier to recreate. 

All these points together mark the value of a digital asset.

Why are Digital Assets Important?

With digitalization taking over several mainstream segments of our society, it is inevitable for digital assets to become more prevalent and important. Businesses own data with immeasurable value, and other entities own graphics, images, videos, animations, write-ups, etc., that hold an immense value that contributes to the importance of digital assets in our lives. 

Most activities and sectors in our society and lives have prominent digital counterparts, like books and research papers for libraries, education material for online tutoring, reports, and statistics for analysis, and much more, which gives rise to the demand factor discussed earlier. When the demand for digital content increases, the value also increases, making it an important part of our lives. 

The New Digital Assets

Although digital assets have existed for many years, their variety and versatility are catapulting only now. With Web 3 making its way as the third generation of the internet, digital assets closely associated with Web 3 are becoming more valuable and dominant.

The new age of digital assets has witnessed a steep rise in the values of the following assets:

–         Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs)

–        Cryptocurrency

–         Tokens

–         Crypto Coins

–         Digital Gold

–         Security Tokens 

Closing Thoughts

Digital Assets form an essential part of the internet; without value, the internet space would collapse. All types of content that add value and can have potential monetary value are digital assets. These assets can be created and sold by individuals, companies, governments, etc. The value of the digital assets is immensely influenced by how tedious their creation process has been, the demand they create, and if they can be reproduced. Digital assets are similar to original artwork like Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh. Both paintings hold immense value because of their unimaginable demand, the time, energy, and skills gone into creating them, and they are almost impossible to recreate.

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