The FinTech narrative: disrupter or enabler?

THE debate on whether FinTech companies are disruptors or enablers to the "establishment" such as banks and financial institutions, has been an ongoing one for some time. The term FinTech was apparently first used by Citigroup in the early 1990s, when it ran a project aimed at addressing the perception that the company is resistant to technology collaboration with outsiders.

Since then, that technology collaboration has come to embody the FinTech industry. This has taken the debate much further, complicated by the fact that the FinTech universe is peppered with a expanding plethora of business models and technologies - from peer-to-peer lending platforms, payment apps and crowdfunding to wealth management robo-advisories, financial modelling software and blockchain technology.

Whether a FinTech company is a disruptor or enabler is to some extent determined by the very nature and business objective of the company. Take for example, blockchain technology, which is attracting significant investment from leading banks globally.