The growth of fintech (financial technology) companies is off the charts. Funding levels indicate major investment in getting financial services technology right, hundreds of companies graduating to "unicorn" status say maybe they're onto something, and growing trends for the general public preferring tech-based money solutions all point to a remarkable opportunity for accessibility advancement.
Will fintech take accessibility along on this ride?
A "unicorn" is a startup with a valuation of $1 billion or more. As mythical creatures, we don't come across unicorns too often in real life. Recently, the same is not true for privately held fintech startup unicorns.
If investment dollars and valuations tell even part of the story, fintech isn't going anywhere.
This is perhaps bolstered by the wide range of focus areas emerging under the fintech umbrella: personal finance management, investment platforms, traditional banking alternatives, and more.
The technology and vision of fintech coupled with increasing consumer behavior favoring self-serve and digital options, all accelerated by the COVID pandemic, lead us here: possibly-unprecedented growth and undeniable opportunity.
Tech leaders tend to play a big role in advancing the awareness and practice of digital accessibility. Companies like Microsoft, Google, and Apple pioneer accessibility solutions and get a lot of attention for it because of the popularity of their brands and widespread use of their products.
The expectations in fintech shouldn't change too much just because these companies leverage their technologies in the financial services industry.
In fact, equal and independent access to banking and money management tools should be the minimum expectation. It should be a given that fintech unicorns will meet accessibility standards, like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, in every app and piece of content — further putting the pressure on traditional banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions to catch up.
With significant investment backing and a technology focus, it will be interesting to watch which of these companies realize the opportunity to go above and beyond with their accessibility initiatives. Our hope is that enough of these companies get accessibility so right that they raise the bar and others follow.
Here are five ways every fintech company can become a leader in accessibility for their consumers: