FINANCIAL technology, or fintech, is forcing a change in many of Singapore's traditional sectors. From financial services to consumer retail and investment, digital disruption is transforming a broad range of businesses. Fundamentally, the principles of financial services - to save, exchange, invest, finance and insure against risk - will remain unchanged. What is certain to change is how users address their needs through such services.

This will trigger a revolution in the way other related businesses within a broader ecosystem operate. Popular fintech solutions such as robo-advisory, blockchain, QR payment mechanisms and crowdfunding, have influenced decision making and how consumers go about their day-to-day lives. The hyper speed adoption of fintech has also created concerns over its sustainability and whether it will culminate in the "Fourth Industrial Revolution". If so, what can Singapore businesses do to benefit from this revolution?

While fintech was not a buzzword until 2015, it has been incubating for almost a decade. The birth and rise of fintech can be traced to the global financial crisis, and the resulting erosion of trust. Since then, fintech has played an important role in the global financial industry as well as people's lives. According to CB Insights, global fintech financing activity jumped almost five-fold from about US$4.6 billion in 2013 to US$22.3 billion in 2015, with a notable increase in the Asia-Pacific.