The fintechs are transforming the financial world, pushing boundaries forward and turning into a respectable bunch in the UK, Ireland, some parts of Asia, as they keep growing towards different parts of the globe.

How did Fintechs get to where they are now?

In our current times, all companies are subject to the digitalization fever, and little by little, they all recur to one or another digital platform; something that the customer base for every market more frequently demands with each day that passes. Within our modern agitated lifestyles, time has become more precious than ever and we can’t afford to waste it in long lines, or endless waiting to attain a service. Fintechs promise to make time more efficient while providing the same security or even more than we thought we would get through traditional banking.

Due to the moments of difficulty that Banks are experiencing right now, the arrival of Fintechs has met with an overwhelmingly positive response. We can look at examples such as Banco Santander or Popular in Spain, which are close to the 4,800 layoffs. Banks nowadays are only a 60% as potent in comparison to how they were in the past.

What about the Fintechs in Spain?

In Spain there are already several platforms that offer online financial services of different types, may it be paying bills and obligations, or P2P loans. Countless Fintech Startups are making their way through the revolution.

According to projected data  from Finanzarel, an alternative financing platform it’s expected that Fintechs in Spain will go on from handling 300 millions of euros in 2016 to handling 30.000 millions of euros in 2025, just in loans through platforms.

Continental Europe is the region that presents the most growth potential for the upcoming years, by target market size considering its current state. It’s estimated that nearly a 10% of the European market target will be financed through online platforms.

Then, what happens with the Banks? Will Fintechs overthrow them?

This is a question that may be answered with an unwavering affirmation at a quick glance, but this is a much more complicated issue than just the imposition of technology based models over traditional ones. If we’re looking for an expert opinion, we can take Grégoire Lestapis, a french 53 year old executive who, barely 3 months ago, quit his position as country manager at BBVA in France to take a radically different path: assume the direction of Lendix in Spain, one of the 10 spanish crowdlending startups.

Lestapis affirms: “thinking that we will be a major competition for the Banks is ridiculous. I believe more in a collaboration model. The market is vast and there’s room for everyone. Two years ago, the relationship between Banks and Fintechs was really conflictive: Banks would look at startups as if we didn’t exist, and startups would look at Banks as industry dinosaurs destined for doom.

Nevetheless, “Now we are entering a collaboration period, and that is extremely good. Banks on their side possess the clients, the production and distribution infrastructure, but they are also constructed very rigidly in a way that makes them reluctant to change. On the other hand, startups are agile, flexible, innovative, having clients as their main focus, and this is indeed a great thing, but there are few clients, clients have little to invest and these companies have little infrastructure.

Here, another question comes up, why does Grégoire Lestapis believe this collaboration is necessary?

“Because a bank cannot do many of the things we do. A bank can take from four to six weeks just to reply, not even to deposit the money. And not because Banks are more trustworthy, because we’re both equally trustworthy, but because of the internal dynamics of each entity. And such slow processes may be valid for the bank, but not for the company, which ends up frustrated because of the long wait and the unnecessary paperwork. That’s where we come in.”

If there’s something we’re capable of discerning from all of this, it’s that it would be of benefit for both parties that the calmed war between Fintechs and banks would come to an end, but in case that the second one decides not to evolve to fulfill its client’s needs, things might change drastically for both in a matter of years. The revolution is inevitable. Fintechs are enrooting deeper into our lives, but it’s up to the public to decide wether to stay with the old system or to dive head first into this new model that is here to stay.