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Social media's role in the financial services sector s significant, influencing various aspects such as customer outreach, service, marketing, and product development. It has enabled financial institutions to extend their reach globally, overcoming geographic limitations. This is achieved through direct and real-time communication with customers, fostering more personal connections. [1]
In terms of marketing, social media is increasingly utilized by both online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending companies and small business lenders. Larger, traditional financial firms are also integrating social media into their marketing strategies. This adoption is notable even among firms that face stringent regulatory environments, such as compliance with Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) rules. [1]
Companies in the financial sector are subject to regulations when using social media. In the United States, they are regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). [2] [3]
The use of social media by investors and financial services professionals for business purposes is subject to regulatory oversight, primarily by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). FINRA's rules, designed to protect investors from misleading information, apply to social media communications just as they do to traditional forms. Key regulatory areas include: [2]
Using technology, companies can interact with customers regardless of their geographic location. While companies are able to connect with more people, their branding strategy has shifted from customized to standardized. Prior to the outbreak of technology, most banks used customized branding where they targeted only customers in their regions. However, businesses can now use technology to operate past their geographic location and maintain a consistent image across multiple countries with standardized branding. By being able to extend a consistent brand reputation across a wider geographic location, financial services companies can take advantage of economies of scale in advertising cost, lower administrative complexity, lower entry into new markets, and improved cross-border learning within the company. [4]
Many argue that electronic banking has made customers feel more distant from their banks due to lack of human to human interaction. Instead of going to a local branch and interacting with a teller, customers can now do most of their banking online and even though mobile devices. Social media has provided a way for companies to once again connect with their customers on a personal level. The financial services sector uses social media platforms to create the value that was once found physically in local branches. For example, through their Facebook page, a bank may post a snapshot of one of their employees with a brief blurb about his/her job duties and values. This strategy replicates the human to human interaction a customer would receive at a local branch and humanizes larger financial institutes. [3]
Social media is a core marketing channel for online P2P lenders as well as small business lenders. Since these companies operate exclusively online, it makes sense for them to market online primarily through social media channels. They are able to grow and find new lenders and buyers by utilizing social networks. [5]
Examples of large financial corporations effectively leveraging social media include Chase, Charles Schwab, and American Express. These cases highlight the expanding role of social media in the sector, despite initial apprehensions related to traditional business models and regulatory constraints.
While social media may not be the central marketing focus for traditional financial institutions, it has become more relevant in recent years. Using social media, financial services companies are able to reach their most valuable customers. According to consulting company Gallup, customers that interact with their bank using social media are 12% more likely to be mass affluent and 18% more likely to be emerging affluent. [1] Besides just reaching their customers and providing service through social media, companies are also able to use data gathered from social media to improve their sales and marketing techniques.
Companies that have excelled at marketing through social media include:
Social media has created entirely new products for the financial services sector, revolutionizing products and developing new industries such as fintech through the merging of social technology and financial services. Fintech is a way to streamline financial services and make them easier to use and access. Since this industry is more novel than the established financial services sector, fintech companies are generally startups. Although these companies are popping up all over the world, fintech companies are the most prominent in China, where digital banking, investing, and lending have become mainstream. According to consulting firm Accenture, 390 million people in China have registered to use mobile banking. This figure is more than the population of the United States. [8] Albeit not as popular in the U.S., the most prominent American fintech company, Venmo, blends technology and financial services together on a social platform.
Other financial technology companies that use social media:
Social media is a core marketing channel for online P2P lenders as well as small business lenders. Since these companies operate exclusively online, it makes sense for them to market online primarily through social media channels. They are able to grow and find new lenders and buyers by utilizing social networks. [10] [11]
As of 2023, there were few social media platforms geared exclusively towards the financial industry. More financial applications are incorporating a social media element. For example, the investing application WeBull incorporates a forum style messaging system on each stock that is available for trading. [12] Investment applications are moving towards incorporating communities into their stock trading platforms. Public app, Fidelity Investments, Interactive Brokers, and E-Trade have moved incorporated a community feature in their investment apps. [13]
As of 2023, there were few vertical social media groups specifically for the financial professional community. Ensombl, is a social networking service that offers education and continuing professional development for financial professionals. In 2023, it hosted 8,000 members.
Other online communities for financial professionals have a forum format, such as Ocho Money, Proformative, Accountant Forums, CFO Leadership Council, and Wall Street Oasis. [14]
Due to the real-time nature of social media, financial services companies must be on constant alert for potential issues so they can be mitigated before any serious damage control is necessary. Any negative experience a customer has can easily be shared online and if it ends up going viral, those comments could likely have a detrimental effect on the company’s stock price and reputation. On the other hand, any positive experience a customer has can also be shared online. However, positive experiences are much less likely to become viral. [15]
Customer privacy is important especially in financial services companies. It is critical that customer information such as a bank account number is kept private. However, this information can be leaked if for example, a customer is unhappy with a bank’s service, they may tweet at the bank expressing their frustrations and include their name and account number. [3]
In the United States, banking had begun by the 1780s, along with the country's founding. It has developed into a highly influential and complex system of banking and financial services. Anchored by New York City and Wall Street, it is centered on various financial services, such as private banking, asset management, and deposit security.
Peer-to-peer lending, also abbreviated as P2P lending, is the practice of lending money to individuals or businesses through online services that match lenders with borrowers. Peer-to-peer lending companies often offer their services online, and attempt to operate with lower overhead and provide their services more cheaply than traditional financial institutions. As a result, lenders can earn higher returns compared to savings and investment products offered by banks, while borrowers can borrow money at lower interest rates, even after the P2P lending company has taken a fee for providing the match-making platform and credit checking the borrower. There is the risk of the borrower defaulting on the loans taken out from peer-lending websites.
Information Framework (IFW) is an enterprise architecture framework, populated with a comprehensive set of banking-specific business models. It was developed as an alternative to the Zachman Framework by Roger Evernden.
LendingClub is a financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was the first peer-to-peer lender to register its offerings as securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and to offer loan trading on a secondary market. At its height, LendingClub was the world's largest peer-to-peer lending platform. The company reported that $15.98 billion in loans had been originated through its platform up to December 31, 2015.
Zopa Bank Ltd. is a British online bank which offers deposit accounts, personal loans and credit cards. It began as the world's first peer-to-peer lending company in 2005 and gained a full banking licence in 2020. The peer-to-peer side of its business closed in December 2021.
Funding Circle is a commercial lender. Originally it was a peer-to-peer lending marketplace that allowed the public to lend money directly to small and medium-sized businesses. Through this exchange businesses access lower costs of financing than they would get at a bank and the public are able to become lenders and in doing so make a return on their capital. It closed its lending option to "retail investors" between 2020 and 2022, and then announced, in March 2022, that it had made the closure permanent.
Actiance Inc was an American-based multinational corporation that developed the platforms required to enable security, management and compliance of unified communications, Web 2.0 and social media channels. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, Actiance supported social networks, unified communications providers and Instant Messaging platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, AOL, Google, Yahoo!, Skype, Microsoft, IBM and Cisco.
RateSetter is a British personal loan provider, founded in 2009 as one of the pioneers of peer-to-peer lending. The London-based company traded in the United Kingdom and through a locally-owned and run business in Australia. The UK business was acquired by Metro Bank in September 2020, leading to closure of the peer-to-peer products in April 2021.
MicroVentures is an equity crowdfunding website that offers investments in early stage companies. It connects accredited investors with startups, businesses and services looking to raise funds or participate in select secondary market opportunities.
Rebuildingsociety.com is a Leeds-based peer-to-peer lending platform, founded in 2012 by Daniel Rajkumar, to facilitate the online arranging of finance between lenders and small and medium-sized enterprises. The first loans were completed in February 2013.
SoFi Technologies, Inc. is an American online personal finance company and online bank. Based in San Francisco, SoFi provides financial products including student loan refinancing, mortgages, personal loans, credit card, investing, and banking through both mobile app and desktop interfaces.
In financial services, open banking allows for financial data to be shared between banks and third-party service providers through the use of application programming interfaces (APIs). Traditionally, banks have kept customer financial data within their own closed systems. Open banking allows customers to share their financial information securely and electronically with other banks or other authorized financial organizations such as payment providers, lenders and insurance companies.
Lendico was a multinational company, operating a peer-to-peer lending platform. It was taken over by Dutch bank ING Groep in early 2018 and now operates as a subsidiary. The international online marketplace for business and consumer lending was founded in December 2013 by the incubator and venture capitalist, Rocket Internet. After launching in Germany, the company expanded into Spain, Poland, Austria, South Africa, the Netherlands and Brazil. Using the crowdfunding model, the company based in Berlin, Germany, directly connects investors and private and business borrowers. Lendico is led by Friedrich Hubel and co-founder Clemens Paschke. Currently, Lendico Brazil still exists but is an independent company from Lendico Global Services.
Peer-to-peer investing (P2PI) is the practice of investing money in notes issued by borrowers who are requesting a loan without going through a traditional financial intermediary and who are unknown to the investor. P2PI is not to be confused with Peer-to-peer lending (P2PL) which deals with the borrower's part. Investing takes place online via a peer-to-peer lending/investing company. There is an individual investor and an individual borrower. The notes can be sold as a security and so investors can exit the investment before the borrower repays the debt.
Fintech, a clipped compound of "financial technology", refers to firms using new technology to compete with traditional financial methods in the delivery of financial services. The use of smartphones for mobile banking, investing, borrowing services, and cryptocurrency are examples of technologies designed to make financial services more accessible to the general public. Fintech companies consist of both startups and established financial institutions and technology companies trying to replace or enhance the usage of financial services provided by existing financial companies.
Ezubao was a peer-to-peer lending scheme based in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui. It was set up as an online scheme in July 2014, attracted funds of about 50 billion yuan from 900,000 investors, and ceased to trade in December 2015. On 1 February 2016, the scheme was closed down and 21 involved people were arrested. Zhang Min, the president of the parent company, Yucheng Global, told investigators that the company operated as a Ponzi scheme. Following its establishment, Ezubao grew rapidly, masquerading as a legitimate investment opportunity while operating under the guise of peer-to-peer lending. Revelations about the fraudulent nature of Ezubao’s operations emerged after an exposé in late 2015, leading to public outcry and intensified scrutiny by regulatory authorities. The scale of Ezubao’s Ponzi scheme, which orchestrated a sophisticated ruse involving fake projects and returns, was unprecedented in China, contributing to an estimated loss of billions of yuan for investors. The scandal not only devastated the finances of nearly a million individuals but also prompted a nationwide tightening of regulations on the peer-to-peer lending industry, aiming to close loopholes and restore investor confidence.
OakNorth Bank is a UK bank for scaling businesses that provides loans and both business and personal savings accounts. The bank, which gained regulatory approval in early 2015, was founded by entrepreneurs Rishi Khosla and Joel Perlman, who had previously founded Copal Amba. The bank focuses on providing loans of £0.5m–£25m as well as savings accounts.
Financial technology is an industry composed of companies that use technology to offer financial services. These companies operate in insurance, asset management and payment, and numerous other industries. FinTech has emerged as a relatively new industry in India in the past few years. The Indian market has witnessed massive investments in various sectors adopting FinTech, which has been driven partly by the robust and effective government reforms that are pushing the country towards a digital economy. It has also been aided by the growing internet and smartphone penetration, leading to the adoption of digital technologies and the rise of FinTech in the country
Auka is a Norwegian, VC-backed financial technology company. Its PSD2 compliant technology platform enables banks to issue white label mobile payments products to their private and merchant customers.
Chime Financial, Inc. is a San Francisco–based financial technology company that partners with regional banks to provide certain fee-free mobile banking services. The company offers early access to paychecks, negative account balances without overdraft fees, high-yield savings accounts, peer-to-peer payments, and an interest-free secured credit card. Chime earns the majority of its revenue from the collection of interchange fees on debit card transactions.