How has the growth in the high-speed, wireless, smartphone market impacted Fintech companies? In particular, how will the growth in 5G wireless communications impact Fintech companies? In what ways does Fintech allow startups to compete with long-established banks?

FIN Small Fintech Banks Know the Show Must Go On In April 2020, the United States government announced the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Large and small businesses went to their tradition-' banks to apply for and obtain these funds to survive the challenges brought on by the pandemic. However, traditional banks prioritized their large customers over their smaller customers, typically consisted of small-businesses and self-employed people. The banks' decisions were strategic. They had worked for years to develop strong relationships with large customers, and those relationships needed to continue during this challenging time. Taking care of large customers meant that smaller customers fell by the wayside. Despite the fact that small businesses also had employees, the banks' prioritization created a divide between who could and could not access the government's PPP funds. At this point, Fintech came to the rescue. As you saw in Chapter 7, Fintech is an industry composed of companies that use technology (e.g, apps on mobile devices, cloud computing, and others) to compete in the marketplace with traditional financial institutions and intermediaries in the delivery of financial services, which include banking, insurance, real estate, and investing. Consider banking. Startup banks typically consider the opportunities offered by Fintech and then develop procedures for these opportunities rather than trying to integrate Fintech with current procedures. As a result, when I'll funds became available, agile startup banks could manage the challenges involved with providing PPP funds faster than large banks that had to contend with legacy infrastructures. Let's take a closer look at Dominick Pietrzak, one of many small-business owners who struggled to make ends meet during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pietrzak owns a film production company in Brooklyn, New York, and is the only full-time employee. He first tried to apply for PPP funds through his bank, Capital One, but it did not accept PPP applications. In fact, Capital One's PPP application system did not become operational until the first round of PPP money was gone. The fact that Capital One did not deploy its PPP application system in a timely fashion turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Pietrzak. His bookkeeping company, Bench www.bench.co), invited him to apply for PPP funds through them. Bench's primary service is to help entrepreneurs by taking care of all bookkeeping and providing monthly financial statements while also connecting them with potential funding sources, Since its founding in 2013, Bench has served more than 500 small businesses and helped them obtain over $50 million in funding. Bench connected Pietrzak to Fundera (www.fundera. com); a free marketplace that allows firms to compare lenders. A Fundera lending specialist matched Pietrzak with Cross River Bank (www.crossriver. com) and helped him fill out an application for PPP funds via the bank. Pietrzak signed closing documents from the bank and two days later the PPP funds were in his bank account. Pictrzak's story illustrates the power of Fintech. He received the kind of service and financial support in the carly days of the PPP program that many other large and small businesses did not receive, Further, his support came from two Fintech companies and a bank specializing in Fintech services rather than from larger, traditional banks. Sources: Compiled from A. Sraders, "What Is Fintech?" Uses and Examples in 2020," TheStreet, February 11, 2020; S. Walden, "What Is Fintech And How Does It Affect How I Bank?" Forbes, August 3, 2020; P. Sullivan, "What Are Fintechs and How Can They Help Small Business?" New York Times, June 10, 2020; E. Zimmerman, "The Evolution of Fintech," DealBook, April 6, 2016: T. Tse, A. Cosentino, and M. Esposito, "Financial Inclusion: 'Finteching' the Underbanked," MIT Technology Review, May 6, 2020; M. Gorman, "Why Fin Techs Are Declaring Victory in PPP Loans," Forbes, August 13, 2020; R. Shevlin, "The Future of Fintech: The New Normal After The Covid-19 Crisis," Forbes, May 26, 2020; A. Sraders, "Does Robinhood Make Money?" TheStreet, February 10, 2019; B. O'Connell, "What is a Robo Advisor and How Do You Choose One?" TheStreet, July 11, 2018; http://bench.co accessed December 3, 2020