Top tips is a weekly column where we highlight what’s trending in the tech world today and list out ways to explore these trends. This week, we’re examining four use cases for AI in the ever-growing FinTech sector. The FinTech sector has transformed the discussion around the financial services industry from top to bottom.

We could probably sum up the direction the financial services industry is headed in just two words: digital transformation. It’s the buzzy, all-encompassing focus and end goal of financial services organizations near and far, and it’s the big reason why many organizations are thinking about process automation with a greater sense of urgency.

Fintech, an abbreviation for financial technology, encompasses many firms and technologies that employ innovation and tech to enhance and automate financial services and operations. Their goal is to enhance the efficiency, accessibility, and user-friendliness of financial services. Fintech entities span numerous sectors within the financial industry, such as online payments, lending, digital banking, investing, insurance, and more, all aimed at streamlining financial processes.

Banks are putting a fresh set of eyes on how they are using APIs to drive better business outcomes and deliver more value to their customers. This is a relatively new departure toward adopting digital transformation of key operations. Financial organizations are traditionally known for favoring conservative business models that often resist modernizing complex legacy systems or rapid change in product and service offerings. This has been changing rapidly as APIs become more prevalent.

It’s no secret that finance organizations are ripe for disruption. Managing money has always been a manual process, from securing payment orders to renewing licenses, and everything in between. That's why ServiceNow Chief Financial Officer Gina Mastantuono invested in a formal citizen development program. She wanted to encourage all finance employees to lean into no- or low-code tools, such as App Engine Studio, to build applications.