Is the FinTech sector responsible for the financial education of its users?

Is the FinTech sector responsible for the financial education of its users?

Entrepreneurship, FinTech, Technologies

Curated by: Sergio A. Martínez

FinTech has emerged as one of the most important aspects of the modern world, playing a crucial role in providing access to financial services and products to everyone and changing how we manage our finances. And there’s no doubt that FinTech apps and platforms have taken the financial world by storm, but as with anything, there are downsides to this popularity that are worth considering.

Is-the-future-of-FinTech-in-the-hands-of-Artificial-Intelligence-icono

What exactly is the FinTech sector’s role in modern financial literacy and education? Does this industry bear any responsibility on this matter, or their participation amounts to just covering a marketing demand?

“As our daily lives become increasingly digitized, more and more people are turning to FinTech solutions for their financial needs”, says Rod Aburto, Co-Founder and Service Delivery Manager at Scio. “From mobile apps that offer budgeting tips to online lenders that help individuals finance their businesses, FinTech companies revolutionized the way we think about personal finance. But as FinTech continues to grow in popularity, some are wondering whether they have a responsibility to provide financial education to their users.”

On one hand, many argue that FinTech companies are simply providing tools and services that users can choose to utilize as they see fit. And just like users of traditional financial products can make bad decisions that lead to debt or financial instability, so can users of FinTech products. As such, these companies should not be held responsible for the financial education of their users. On the other hand, some argue that FinTech companies are responsible for providing financial education to their users. After all, these companies often market themselves as alternatives to traditional financial institutions, which typically offer their customers some form of financial education. Furthermore, many FinTech applications are designed for people who may not be familiar with personal finance concepts, making it even more important for these companies to provide clear and concise information about their products, so what happens when people use them without really understanding how they work? 

Poor financial literacy can lead to serious mistakes, like overspending or making poor investment choices, creating a lot of financial anxiety or even worse outcomes. So, while FinTech apps can be helpful, the users must adopt this technology responsibly, understanding both the risks and rewards before getting started.

Financial literacy in the FinTech era

“Financial education has become an important complement to market conduct and prudential regulation and many countries have made improving individual financial behaviors a long-term policy priority”, says Simon Pearson of the Investment and Finance site HedgeThink. “In a world dominated by continuum technological advances, the efforts towards financial education shouldn’t be limited to economic affairs but rather focus on mastering the technology that will drive the financial mechanisms of the future.”

So as FinTech companies increasingly play a role in our financial lives, it also has a responsibility to help educate people about personal finance, budgeting, and investment strategies, as well as the nature of the financial services they offer. We can break it down into the following categories:

1) Marketing. FinTech companies need to be careful about the way they market their products. In a rapidly developing industry like FinTech, it can be difficult to keep up with the latest marketing trends, but there are a few key principles that all responsible FinTech marketers should keep in mind. First and foremost, always be transparent about your product or service. With so many options available, potential customers need to know exactly what they’re getting before they commit. Secondly, don’t make promises that you can’t deliver on. And finally, always put the customer first, remembering that you’re not just selling a product, you’re solving a problem.

2) Security.  When it comes to FinTech, data security is essential. FinTech firms deal with sensitive customer data daily, so it’s crucial to secure it, making it accessible only to authorized personnel. But beyond that, it’s necessary to make it clear to the user what information is getting stored, explain why, and have clear means of communication and support if any serious problem arises. “FinTech firms and their customers are often targets of all kinds of attacks and frauds, so it’s important to have robust security systems in place to protect against these threats and inform the public of the potential risks involved”, advises Rod Aburto on the matter.

3) Communication. FinTech companies provide a valuable service to their customers by giving them access to financial products and services that they might not otherwise have. However, FinTech companies need to communicate with their customers regularly to ensure that they are providing the best possible service. Customers need to be able to reach out if they have any questions or concerns, and they also need to be kept up to date on changes that could affect their accounts. Good customer communication can help to build trust and loyalty, and it can also help to resolve issues before they become major problems.

The limits of FinTech education

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However, beyond these good practices, it’s good to keep in mind that, while FinTech has made it easier than ever to access financial education, there are still some limits to what it can provide. For one thing, FinTech products can be a great resource for learning about financial products and services, but it can’t provide professional financial advice when it comes to making major decisions. These kinds of applications can provide people with the tools and knowledge they need to make informed choices regarding their money, but it is always best to speak to a qualified financial advisor that could provide a good outside perspective.  

Additionally, FinTech can be a great way to learn about personal finance basics, but it’s not always the best resource for more complex topics. Many people view financial education as a dry and boring topic, and with the rise of more and more FinTech platforms and applications, there are now more ways than ever to learn about money management, but a lot of the responsibility of making an informed decision and assuming the ensuing risk still rests on the shoulders of the customer, so seeking information with a trustworthy source is still the way to go. 

Despite these limitations, FinTech is still a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their financial literacy. This is still a relatively new industry, and it’s constantly evolving, which means that there are bound to be some growing pains as the industry matures. So, while FinTech can be a great resource for managing your finances, as a user it’s important to be aware of the risks and limitations of these applications; they are often created to offer a solution to a particular problem, but they are seldom meant to be the be-all-end-all of every financial necessity. 

And as a company, having an adequate ethical framework to approach the creation of a new FinTech platform, informing users and customers clearly of what they should expect, what they can’t do, and the basics they need to understand to make the best use of the product is a must. With these considerations, FinTech companies can help make sure that their products are safe and helpful for everyone.

The Key Takeaways

  • FinTech applications and software are becoming more and more relevant to our daily life, making it easier than ever to get started on a new financial road.
  • However, this abundance of options and innovations also brings new questions to solve: is financial education becoming a responsibility of FinTech?
  • Even if that’s still an open question, there’s no doubt that most FinTech companies can adopt practices (in Marketing, Security, and Communication) to ensure their products are not misunderstood or used incorrectly.
  • And finally, a deeper understanding of finance still falls on the shoulders of users, who should seek knowledgeable and trustworthy people to make sure they use any application or platform to its fullest.

Scio is an established Nearshore software development company based in Mexico that specializes in providing high-quality, cost-effective technologies for pioneering tech companies. We have been building and mentoring teams of engineers since 2003 and our experience gives us access not only to the knowledge but also the expertise needed when tackling any project. Get started today by contacting us about your project needs – We have teams available to help you achieve your business goals.

The Rubber Duck Method: What is the explanation behind this debugging approach?

The Rubber Duck Method: What is the explanation behind this debugging approach?

Project Management, Technologies

Curated by: Sergio A. Martínez

Debugging software is an important, if often tedious, the task for any programmer. Finding and removing errors generating crashes, freezes, or incorrect results is critical to ensuring the quality of a piece of software, and while some bugs can be fixed with a few simple tests, more difficult ones require special approaches and techniques. And thankfully, there are many resources available to help programmers debug their software; after all, with patience and perseverance, even the most difficult bugs can be squashed.

The Rubber Duck Method: What is the explanation behind this debugging approach?

One such technique is the popular Rubber Duck method, which may already be familiar to a seasoned developer. In short, the Rubber Duck method is a debugging approach in which developers explain their code line by line to an inanimate object, such as a rubber duck. This may sound silly, but it’s an incredibly effective way to find and fix mistakes. 

“Computers process information differently than humans do. Anyone who’s first learning to program understands this well. What’s hard about programming for a beginner isn’t really big hard esoteric concepts, but that you’ve got to be so painfully exacting in how you describe everything to a (dumb) computer. That’s why we do rubber duck debugging.”

However, have you ever been curious about why this approach works? What exactly happens in our brains when we verbalize a problem to someone else (even if that someone just happens to be a bath toy), that could lead to a solution that was obvious all along? And what is the best way to implement this method to finally find and solve that bug that has been bothering you all week?

The challenge of language

Computers are dumb. And we don’t mean that in a Luddite, anti-tech sort of way, we mean it in the original definition of “dumb”: incapable of human speech. And speech here is more than just talking; speech includes context, mood, choice of words, familiarity, and an infinity of other variables that a computer can’t understand (yet).

Of course, this doesn’t mean that we cannot communicate with computers, it just means that we use specialized languages to do so, and every single one of them works with the principle that computers are dumb: unless you tell a machine exactly what they need it to do, or how to react when something happens, they will not produce a desirable outcome. Thoughtful Code put it best:

“‘Is it cold outside?’ is a question that most humans, having some idea of the weather, will answer pretty easily. They’ll say something like, “No, it’s pretty nice.” Asked that question, a computer — or a really finicky and hyper-rational person — will need you to define each of those words.”  

A computer understands the most literal and absolute terms and learning to manipulate those terms is the basic principle of programming. This also means that computers don’t make mistakes, people do. So, if something within the instructions given to the machine doesn’t add up, then the program will not work as intended, and finding the exact place where the communication between a person and a computer got out of alignment can be a challenge. Here’s where the rubber duck comes in handy, thanks to the way we process language.

Here’s a fun fact: did you know that reading, writing, and speaking are located in completely different parts of our brain? Our understanding of the way we use and apply language is always evolving, but it is understood that we use different functions depending on the type of language we employ, which is why it’s so useful to verbalize a problem to find a solution: you involve a completely different part of your mind to help.

Of course, the Rubber Duck method is not useful only in software development, but since computers are very linguistically complex tools (being probably the only ones we need to “speak to” to use), verbalization is useful here, forcing developers to slow down and think about the minute details of their code, which can help to spot mistakes that they would otherwise overlook. As the blog “The Psychology Behind Rubber Duck Debugging” puts it:

“A lot of times, I’ve experienced some programmers that will ask my help about a specific bug they are fixing. I will then ask them how their application and their code works. I literally have no idea how to fix a program that is not mine and have no idea about the flow. However, I let them explain the flow of the process and the connection between functions and files. Oftentimes, they think of a solution before I even understand what is happening. Many people have been so thankful for me — for doing literally, nothing.”

Programmers understanding themselves

The Rubber Duck Method: What is the explanation behind this debugging approach?

You can see the same principle at work in the classroom. Teachers probing students with questions are intended to make sure a lesson has been learned, forcing the students to consider and explain it by themselves. The only difference is that a programmer using the Rubber Duck method is taking both roles (teacher and student) at once. 

In other words, this method allows developers to share their thoughts with a neutral party, questioning and probing themselves regarding their code, which can help identify areas of confusion or misunderstanding. And most importantly, it encourages developers to develop a clear and concise explanation of their code, which can be useful for future reference. 

“The real magic doesn’t happen on the rubber duck itself (sorry, Duck Norris). However, it happens in our minds. It uses the same psychological principle wherein we are encouraged to explain to ourselves why we did such actions and have a self-realization about what we’ve done. It is usually used by most psychologists to fully understand a person and, at the same time, for the person to understand himself/herself fully.”

And understanding yourself is fundamental to being a good programmer. Just like writing any other thing (a novel, or a sheet of music), everyone has their own style, approach, and technique when coding an application, which makes the ability to explain what you wrote so important; if you aren’t able to understand your process inside and out, then debugging will always be a challenge, especially when working as part of a team, where the code must always be in sync. In fact, the Rubber Duck method can be used as a form of collaboration, as another programmer can serve as your rubber duck and offer feedback or suggestions while you go through your code trying to find an answer.

“When working on a software development project, it’s important to have a good collaboration method in place, and the rubber duck method is one way to ensure that everyone on the team is on the same page”, says Jesús Magaña, Senior Project Manager at Scio. “It can help a developer to articulate his or her thought process, and as a result, team members can quickly identify any gaps in understanding and address them before they cause problems. Additionally, the rubber duck method can help to uncover errors in logic or coding syntax, and overall is an effective way to ensure that everyone on the team can contribute.”

In a Nearshore development environment, where collaboration has come a long way in recent years, the Rubber Duck method can also be useful to bring keep everyone on the same page by improving communication, helping maintain contributions clear, and easing the challenge of solving a tough bug even in remote settings (where a developer may not have anyone to immediately bounce ideas or solutions during debugging), which can help projects to come together more easily. After all, Nearshore software development has its challenges, but by using the proper approach (or bath toy), teams can overcome obstacles and build better software together.

The Key Takeaways

  • A bug in the code is basically a mistake in communication between a developer and a computer.
  • Following this, it’s no wonder that approaches to problem-solving like the Rubber Duck method can help to find the precise place where a code is not working.
  • Although you only need something to talk to (like a rubber duck), this process can involve many people in a team, offering advice and feedback.
  • However, in remote setups (like with a Nearshore development partner), having a way to find and fix bugs without the insight of anyone else can be a valuable resource.

Scio is a Nearshore software development company based in Mexico where we believe that everyone deserves everyone should have the opportunity to work in an environment where they feel like a part of something. A place to excel and unlock their full potential which is the best approach to create a better world. We have been collaborating with US-based clients since 2003, solving challenging programming puzzles, and in the process showcasing the skills of Latin American Engineers. Want to be part of Scio? Get in contact today!

“Soft Tech”: Bridging the gap between technology and mindfulness in the workplace

“Soft Tech”: Bridging the gap between technology and mindfulness in the workplace

Technologies

Curated by: Sergio A. Martínez

We all know how it feels to have a long, stressful day at work. After sitting in front of a computer for hours, staring at code on a screen, or attending back-to-back meetings in faraway places, the last thing you probably want to do is come home and use even more technology, even if it is to relax. 

“Soft Tech”: Bridging the gap between technology and mindfulness in the workplace

However, there are some great ways to take advantage of technology to unwind after a stressful day, from streaming music to meditation apps can help to calm your mind and ease anxiety, and this is thanks to the rise of the “self-care” movement and increasing awareness of the critical importance of mental health in the workplace, where the plague of burnout and social anxiety has made more difficult for many developers to keep a healthy relationship with themselves. 

However, when people think about self-care, they often think of things like taking a bubble bath or going for a massage, but this is far from the truth. Self-care is an important tool for software developers, who do an activity that can have a physical toll (is well known how sitting in front of a computer for long hours can lead to eye strain, back pain, and even carpal tunnel syndrome, for example), as well as a mental weight thanks to the continuous challenge of solving technological puzzles under constraints almost every day. 

And today, this is the raison d’être behind the rise of a new field of software development currently known as “soft tech”; the idea of creating applications, interfaces, and programs whose purpose is helping us take care of ourselves, especially during those short windows that sometimes appear during a stressful day (or week, or month).  The essay “Radical Softness” by Kat Brewster, from the boutique videogame magazine A Profound Waste of Time, explains it best:

“To be radically soft in the digital age is not simply to recognize caring for one’s self as potentially a radical act, but also to recognize the unique strengths, limits, and realities of soft things. The radicalization of organic, messy, squishy, real-world bodies through creative technologies”.

“Soft tech” has been gaining traction during the last decade, and that shot up in importance since the COVID pandemic began in 2020, helping people to get through the isolation and anxiety that those circumstances brought in. In short, what “soft tech” wants to accomplish is using technology to create self-care tools to relax and regain a lost balance, a few minutes at a time. And when it comes to software development of every kind, whose demand skyrocketed during the pandemic, creating unending deadlines to meet and problems to solve, these kinds of applications can be a great resource to take care of oneself.

The best “soft tech” applications you can get

It seems like everywhere you look these days, a new app or software tool is promising to help you take better care of yourself. And it’s no wonder that this is becoming such a popular topic, especially with so many people moving towards working remotely, which can be isolating depending on your set-up. When you’re not surrounded by colleagues and are just working all the time, it can be easy to let your health and well-being fall by the wayside, but with soft tech apps, you can stay on track and make sure you’re taking care of your mental health. 

Many of these apps even offer helpful tips and articles on everything, from reducing stress to eating better, and with so many people now working remotely, it’s easier than ever to find an app that fits your needs and lifestyle. Whether you’re looking for help with meditation, fitness, or diet, there’s sure to be an app that can help you out, so we compiled some recommendations from our team on the best ones you can get right now:

Soft-Tech-Bridging--mindfulness-in-the-workplace-headspace

Headspace

If you’re looking for a meditation app that will help you relax and de-stress, then you should check out Headspace. This app is extremely user-friendly, and it has a ton of great features; you can choose from a variety of different guided meditations, and some helpful animations that explain the concepts behind this practice. In addition, the app keeps track of your progress, so you can see how your meditation practice is improving over time. “I’ve been using Headspace for a while now, and I can feel a notable difference”, says Denisse Morelos, Marketing Executive at Scio. “With just ten minutes spent on it, my day can always get better.”

Soft-Tech-Bridging--mindfulness-in-the-workplace-mountain

Mountain

This is a simulation game with a pretty simple concept: the app procedurally generates a digital mountain, with its own geography and climate, and you watch it evolve through simulated time (hours, days, years). It sometimes generates some insights to share, but that’s pretty much it. It doesn’t have controls, or anything else; it’s about stopping and enjoying the passage of time, a pretty calm, and even meditative, experience.

Soft-Tech-Bridging--mindfulness-in-the-workplace-mountain

Viridi

Depending on the type of person you are, you might find gardening either very stressful or one of the most rewarding pastimes you can have. If you are one of the latter, Viridi was made for you. Similar to Mountain, this game lets you watch the growth of a digital object (in this case, a succulent plant), giving you the task of watering and taking proper care of it, accompanied by nice, soft visuals and a relaxing atmosphere with nothing pressing on you.  

Soft-Tech-Bridging--mindfulness-in-the-workplace-throw-cubes

Throw cubes into brick towers to collapse them

Yes, the title tells you everything you need to know: a “sandbox” game where you can generate block towers (choosing everything from the shape of the bricks to the configuration of the tower, to even the parameters of the physics), and you just topple it down throwing cubes, selecting their size and mass, or even dynamite, if you want something messier. It’s basically a digital Jenga tower that you can collapse over and over, so just put some of your favorite music as background and unwind after a stressful day. “Toppling down writer’s block is more literal than you might think”, says Sergio Martinez, Content Manager at Scio.

An application for every need

Nearshore and FinTech: Easier than you may think

“Technology doesn’t need to be this hard-edged dark thing. It can be something that embraces your body, where the interfaces are designed around you, where the colors are warm and gentle, and promote health and well-being. And that’s really different from the attitude a lot of people had in the 90s, which was ‘Jack me in the Matrix and get rid of my physical body”, indicates the aforementioned “Radical Softness” essay.

We know that, as a software developer, a lot of your time is spent sitting in front of a computer screen. And while you might be used to working long hours, it’s important to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself both mentally and physically. That’s why learning some basic self-care techniques can be so important; things like getting enough sleep, eating healthy meals, and exercising regularly can help improve your focus and concentration and reduce your stress levels, and something as simple as an application on your phone can make the difference in your day.

It’s no secret that the workplace can be stressful. But by taking a few to focus on your wellbeing, you can increase your productivity, improve your mood, and reduce your anxiety levels. So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed at work, be sure to download a self-care app and give yourself the break you deserve.

The Key Takeaways

  • Self-care is not bubble baths and having your favorite tea; it’s a discipline where you take proper maintenance of your physical and mental health, keeping a proper balance in your life.
  • In software development, which saw demand skyrocket during the pandemic, taking proper care of yourself is becoming more important than ever to keep performing as well as you can.
  • This resulted in the rise of “soft tech”, applications meant to help you reach a state of relaxation through meditation guidelines, or simply engaging, low-stake activities designed to bring mindfulness a few minutes at a time.

Scio is a Nearshore software development company based in Mexico where we believe that everyone deserves everyone should have the opportunity to work in an environment where they feel like a part of something. A place to excel and unlock their full potential which is the best approach to create a better world. We have been collaborating with US-based clients since 2003, solving challenging programming puzzles, and in the process showcasing the skills of Latin American Engineers. Want to be part of Scio? Get in contact today!

Optimizing for licensing versus optimizing for performance: A complex IT puzzle

Optimizing for licensing versus optimizing for performance: A complex IT puzzle

Technologies

Curated by: Sergio A. Martínez

It’s not a secret that IT environments are getting more complex by the day, with every new product and application nowadays needing deployment across multiple clouds, data centers, and architectures, which makes optimization through multiple licenses and states an ever-increasing challenge. And that’s without mentioning that our current path to digitalization was sped up considerably after the COVID-19 pandemic pushed our need for software solutions further away.

Optimizing for licensing versus optimizing for performance: A complex IT puzzle

This complexity is such, that according to Flexera’s 2021 State of IT Visibility report, “less than 25% of IT leaders have complete visibility into their IT estates”, which is a mind-blowing fact once we digest it properly; it means that up to 75% of our current IT environments have unknown areas that pose a challenge to the development and implementation of many software solutions.

But why does this happen? 

The truth is, organizations today are under the pressure to drive more value from IT investments, and as a result, leaders are always looking for ways to optimize their IT estates, creating a very specific challenge in today’s software development, creating a situation where a company has to choose between optimizing for licensing and optimizing for performance. And this is key for the success of any project.

Performance Vs. Licensing

Keeping Your Compliance: The other meaning for “KYC”

“As leaders look for ways to optimize their IT estates, they are challenged with choosing between optimizing for licensing and optimizing for performance. Each one has implications for the other, and without a holistic approach, organizations must choose where to focus their efforts”, explains this article published by IBM. In short, an organization should look to integrate applications (that is, “optimizing for performance”); however, since most third-party software charges a licensing fee to use them at business level, carefully weighing options that fit within budget (or “optimizing for licensing”) could make or break a project.  

So while it is important to optimize your software options for performance, choosing the applications, platforms, or software that best suit your needs it’s also important, and a balance must be struck between the two, understanding the advantages and disadvantages they bring. On one hand, when optimizing for licensing, leaders need to consider the type of license that is best suited for their business needs, how many licenses they need, and how they can get the most from them. A license from a big corporation like Oracle, for example, can charge up to 22% of the total price in licensing, so having multiple ones without careful consideration can be quite a hit to the bank account.

On the other hand, when optimizing for performance, leaders need to focus on how they can improve the efficiency of their systems and make them more effective, making financial considerations less of a priority, although it’s rare when an organization can do this without immediate concerns. So to make the best decision, leaders need to carefully weigh options and choose the path that will help them meet their goals.

Controlling your IT states

Nearshore and FinTech: Easier than you may think

“Traditional Software Asset Management (SAM) and IT Asset Management (ITAM) help organizations to understand where licenses are deployed, how software is being used, what versions of software are deployed, and if license use is compliant. This approach yields substantial benefits, but does not provide mechanisms to optimize on a continuous basis”, continues the aforementioned IBM article about some solutions currently implemented.

The thing is, current IT environments are so complex, that manual intervention is often required to understand a system holistically, especially when critical data gets ‘siloed’ in specific IT states, making it unlikely to have a complete view of the organization. After all, it’s easy for a growing company to look for solutions in the short term, and end with critical data concentrated in an external platform, creating issues to distribute it properly if it doesn’t play well with the rest of the IT environment. For example, cloud technology that might be challenging to troubleshoot if errors or other issues occur.

“What many [companies] don’t realize is that a software usage metering tool is just the first step, not the end-all and be-all, of managing these expensive software assets. The wide array of features and functionalities of software usage metering tools are only valuable if you know how to properly use them to accomplish your software license optimization goals.”

So to facilitate the task of implementing better automation into a processes, organizations need to be very smart about the tools, platforms, and systems they adopt into their IT environments, giving weight to the pros and cons of licensing a more uniform product, what the company is trying to accomplish product and/or service-wise, and the best way to achieve a good outcome.

“Combining license asset data and application performance data with intelligent automation gives IT leaders the visibility needed to optimize their IT estates while ensuring they remain in compliance”, concludes the IBM blog.

A solution in smart collaboration

As more and more organizations are outsourcing their IT needs to remain competitive, looking to optimize their spending and remain compliant with the license contracts without losing visibility into the entire IT estate, an answer can be found in Nearshore collaboration. With a Nearshore partner, an organization can gain visibility into their IT estate while optimizing their technology investments, getting the best of both worlds: the ability to remain compliant and the flexibility to optimize your technology investments.

This kind of collaboration can help simplify this systemic complexity by providing a single point of contact for all of their IT challenges by developing applications and products suited for their own context. The reason is that Nearshore development enables better collaboration between teams thanks to a close geographical location, and as a result, it’s a great way to combat the complexity of today’s IT environments. 

By working with a Nearshore partner, you can get the benefit of their expertise in managing complex deployments by making it easier to coordinate and manage projects, a great solution for companies that are looking to simplify their IT environment. The reality is that, as traditional workforces evolve, organizations to start investing in digital transformation efforts to keep up, and while the balance between licensing and performance is still an important consideration, choosing to develop internal tools and applications to reach a digital workplace is becoming more feasible thanks to the Nearshore model, which can help organizations fill skills gaps and reduce costs, 

However, it’s important to choose a partner that understands your culture and values, so while collaboration tools can help remote teams stay connected and aligned, they need to be used effectively. In other words, the workplace (as well as the IT environments that come along with it) is changing, and organizations need to be ready for it. So if you’re looking for a way to stay competitive in today’s digital world, and considering your options between optimizing and licensing, maybe Nearshore outsourcing is the answer you are looking for.

The Key Takeaways

  • Choosing a software application to implement in your organization requires a careful balance between optimizing for performance and optimizing for licensing.
  • Many of the bigger cloud-based service platforms can offer all the solutions you need, but the licensing costs, plus the risk of siloing information in an external system, could pose some issues in the long run.
  • However, depending on your needs and the size of your organization, opting to develop custom solutions that hit a performance target without getting tangled in too many licensing issues is possible by collaborating with a Nearshore outsourcing company.

Scio is an established Nearshore software development company based in Mexico that specializes in providing high-quality, cost-effective technologies to help you reach new heights. We have been developing since 2003 and our experience gives us access not only to the knowledge but also the expertise needed when tackling any project. Get started today by contacting us about your project needs – we’ll be happy to help you achieve your business goals.

Developing FinTech applications: A puzzle of high stakes and many pieces.

Developing FinTech applications: A puzzle of high stakes and many pieces.

Product Development, Technologies

Curated by: Sergio A. Martínez

When it comes to software development, the core principle of «Know Your Customer» is as important as ever; after all, you can’t develop a truly useful application without a deep understanding of your user base. And when it comes to the world of Financial Technology, this is especially true, as the stakes are higher, so to ensure safety in your product, there’s simply no substitute for due diligence. And by collaborating closely with our clients and understanding their unique risks, we at Scio can develop FinTech applications that are both useful and safe.

DevOpinions Is the Python language here to stay

“With FinTech apps constantly flooding the market, FinTech app design might seem like a pretty sweet and easy job to do. But, in reality, designing a FinTech app is probably one of the toughest jobs out there, as it carries a number of unique challenges that can significantly impact the efficiency and adoption of the final product. One such challenge is the “KYC” or “Know Your Customer” requirement that all financial services providers need to comply with”, explains the article “The pain of KYC in FinTech”.

In other words, developing financial software is a challenge that requires regulations and laws that avoid any serious issues for the user. It’s a puzzle of many pieces, and getting them to fit together can be a tricky situation, but when everything comes together, the result is a beautiful thing. So by taking the time to get to know your clients inside and out, you can develop a much better FinTech application that meets their needs and exceeds their expectations.

However, when it comes the time to expand your team, and choose to collaborate with a Nearshore partner like Scio, what are the challenges faced during the project by our teams, and what are the best ways to ensure the products we helped create are the best they can be, and guarantee that KYC checks are followed properly?

Keeping Your Compliance: The other meaning for “KYC”

Keeping Your Compliance: The other meaning for “KYC”

Very few industries have higher stakes than FinTech, and that’s a core belief that any team developing financial service software has to internalize down to instinct: money is no laughing matter. Be it transferring, keeping it, or doing important operations with it (such as insurance, or billing), regulations on money and banking are an issue taken seriously by all, both private and public organizations. This is, then, what poses the biggest challenges faced when developing FinTech products, summarized so well in the initialism “KYC”: Knowing Your Customers.

“KYC is a regulatory requirement for financial institutions. By law, they are obliged to verify the identities of their clients to prevent fraud and constrain the service access of users who don’t fulfill certain standards of credibility”, says the article Keep Your Compliance: The FinTech’s Guide to KYC. “But Know Your Customer policies are not just regulatory boundaries. They also act as competitive factors. KYC yields insightful data on one’s own services and customers.”

So mastering KYC is critical for any FinTech related-product, although it should be noted that this concept doesn’t establish a concrete set of guidelines, and different types of clients (from a single person to an entire corporation) may have different requirements for their projects, with varying levels of detail, based on the type of transaction needed from the application. This, in turn, can have an extra layer of complexity by building an application meant to work in different territories, each with its regulations, laws, and context, which means that profound knowledge of the financial sector is often required to successfully develop such products.

And although following KYC to achieve the best outcome in FinTech products is necessary for any successful project, the truth is that the costs of these procedures add up, with the average cost of a single KYC check between 13 and 130 dollars (depending on the personnel number, as well as the cost of the particular platform used to do the checks), and up to 25% of FinTech platforms abandoned it due to friction in the customer’s end, which can require a long process to verify one’s ID. 

This poses FinTech as a notoriously risky venture, where tight regulations, costs, and market demand for easy interaction that, nonetheless, also require a rigorous procedure to avoid issues like fraud and money laundering, so any organization attempting it is incentivized to look for any help that might alleviate development, and Nearshore development might hold an answer.

Nearshore and FinTech: Easier than you may think

Nearshore and FinTech: Easier than you may think

When it comes to software development, a FinTech company has options; either choosing to do everything in-house or looking to augment their team with the help of a Nearshore organization. There are pros and cons to both approaches, but it can be a particularly good option for FinTech companies, helping them access the expertise they need to build a successful product by working with a partner with a deep understanding of the financial sector, with the skills they need close by. 

Opting for team augmentation this way allows companies to tap into a larger pool of talent, or “Adding workforce the Nearshore way” in the words of Rod Aburto, Service Delivery Manager, and Co-Founder at Scio, ensuring that communication and progress overview is done in a timely and convenient manner. This ability to collaborate in real-time is another key advantage of Nearshore partnering, and critical to ensuring that KYC is followed, with the final product meeting all the requirements needed. 

Ultimately, there are many reasons why these partnerships are a good idea for FinTech companies, and the biggest one is that you can get the best of both worlds: someone who knows the ins and outs of the industry and can help you navigate the regulatory KYC landscape and also shares a passion for developing amazing software.

After all, FinTech companies are under constant pressure to release new features and products quickly, without compromising on quality or security, so to meet these demands, many firms are discovering that by expanding their team resources with a Nearshore organization, a Fintech company can access some expertise that might otherwise be unavailable, and in the case of the financial sector, the proximity between the US and LATAM means that companies like Scio already have a close understanding of all the culturally and legally relevant details that are so important for the correct implementation of KYC checks.

As a result, FinTech companies stay ahead of the competition, speeding up the development process, easing the costs of KYC in the project, and all in all, getting all the talent and expertise you need to develop FinTech applications. So if you’re looking to develop FinTech applications, don’t be afraid to reach out and collaborate with a Nearshore partner: with the right team in your corner, anything is possible.

The Key Takeaways

  • Although FinTech solutions are in high demand, developing applications for it is full of challenges and obstacles that need a critical eye.
  • One of the biggest is KYC, or Know Your Customer, which dictates plenty of the requirements of any software, platform, or app.
  • KYC can be costly, so most FinTech organizations need to proceed with development in an especially careful way, and seek the best support available. 
  • Nearshore development can offer plenty of solutions for the FinTech sector of the US, as the geographical, economic, and cultural proximity between North America and LATAM can ease many of the challenges of KYC.

Scio is a Nearshore software development company based in Mexico where we believe that everyone deserves everyone should have the opportunity to work in an environment where they feel like a part of something. A place to excel and unlock their full potential which is the best approach to create a better world. We have been collaborating with US-based clients since 2003, solving challenging programming puzzles, and in the process showcasing the skills of Latin American Engineers. Want to be part of Scio? Get in contact today!

DevOpinions: Is the Python language here to stay?

DevOpinions: Is the Python language here to stay?

Technologies

Curated by: Sergio A. Martínez

No single programming language can claim to be the most popular (as popularity is subjective and depends on factors such as industry type, location, and personal preferences), but Python is certainly one of the best candidates to grab that title. After all, according to the TIOBE Index, Python is the most used language overall (reaching the 1st position in July of 2022), and it has been steadily gaining ground since its debut in the early 90s, so now it’s the perfect time to review what’s so good about this tech, what capabilities let Python takes its current place in the software industry, and what downsides it might have.

DevOpinions Is the Python language here to stay

After all, Python has been the language of choice for many major technological projects in recent years, including Google’s App Engine, Instagram, and Pinterest, as well as being one of the most popular languages for teaching introductory computer science courses at various universities. It has even found applications in fields such as web development, scientific computing, and artificial intelligence, so given its versatility and widespread use, it’s no wonder that Python is often considered a basic skill among most developers around. 

However, is the excitement around Python warranted? You may already know that Python is praised for its readability and simplicity, often described as an «executable pseudocode,» which means that it’s easy for even non-programmers to understand, making it an ideal language for prototyping, or as a starting point for beginners.

In addition, it’s also open-source, meaning that anyone can contribute to its development (and keeps its already large library growing), so all this makes it a no-brainer when it comes to software development, but if we were to ask some actual developers about the good and bad sides to Python, maybe we can get insight on why this very dynamic (but sometimes confusing) language has earned its place in programming, so we asked Martín Ruiz and Elier Ramos, Application Developers at Scio with experience creating software with Python, to share their takes on this popular language.

What are the cool things about Python?

DevOpinions Is the Python language here to stay

On one hand, Python is a very versatile programming language that offers many advantages to developers, perhaps the most notable being its readability. Thanks to its use of indentation and whitespace, Python code is often far easier for people to read and understand than code written in other languages, which saves valuable time when working on larger projects. In addition, Python is an interpreted language, which means that it doesn’t need to be compiled before it can be run. 

“I like the dynamism of Python. By being a higher leveled language than others like C, Java, or C#, it’s possible to develop the same kind of programs with briefer code”, says Martín. “It’s a multi-paradigm language where you don’t need to know OOP to generate programs capable of solving problems”.

The dynamism Martín mentions refers to, according to the words of the blog Data Towards Science, to a peculiar quality of this language, in which “to evaluate an expression, a compiler first searches the current block and then successively all the calling functions”. Additionally, even if the object-oriented features of Python are not as robust as those found in other languages, it still offers excellent support for it, making it a great choice to develop complex applications. 

“This language is widely used for mathematical simulation and data analysis, and it’s very focused on engineering, but it can also find a lot of applications to replicate what other languages can do, making it a sort of “all-in-one”, explains Elier.

Python also includes a large standard library that can be used to develop a wide range of applications, and with so many advantages, it’s no wonder that it has become one of the most popular programming languages in the world. However…

Some downsides to coding in Python

DevOpinions Is the Python language here to stay

While Python is a versatile language with a wide variety of applications, it does have some well-documented disadvantages worth discussing. One potential downside, for example, is that Python code can be difficult to master, with a potentially confusing syntax due to its use of whitespace and indentation, which can make code written by more experienced programmers a challenge to understand. 

In addition, it’s not well suited for low-level tasks such as system programming or network programming, and Python’s interpreted nature can lead to slower execution times compared to languages like C++, which are compiled. Martin Ruiz, again explains some of its shortcomings:

“Since it’s more dynamic, and it doesn’t have as many restrictions as other languages, the developer is the one responsible for following good practices and documentation to achieve clean code. In other words, it’s a lot easier to generate illegible code with Python than with other languages, and it’s also more prone to generate errors thanks to this same dynamism. After all, the variables of Python can take any other value type.”

Furthermore, Python’s syntax, already somewhat difficult, is not consistent across all platforms, which can lead to compatibility issues, and the resulting code can be more difficult to debug and maintain, as well as having some structural issues that any seasoned developer must watch out for. In the words of Elier:

“Developing software with Python is very quick, but the design pattern and dependency injections can get lost very easily with this language. You can have way too many instanced things, and that gets hard to follow. I really wish the design patterns were more explicit in their instance and declaration.”

Additionally, the same popularity of Python makes finding experienced developers more difficult, as all big companies use it one way or another, reducing the available talent pool constantly. But despite these potential drawbacks, it remains a popular language for many types of projects due to its ease of use and wide range of libraries.

Final thoughts

“I started to learn Python during college, thanks to a teacher I worked with, building a system for a software conference. He used it for everything he developed, and it helped me a lot when I got my Master’s Degree because almost every teacher there used it”, explains Martín of his total experience with Python. “I would definitely add the optional use of keys to group code to make it more legible, though. And anyone willing to study this language should try to understand dynamic scoping to make full use of it, without taking the same approach as more structured languages such as Java or C#.”

So, taking it from an experienced Python developer, what this language offers is a “high risk / high reward” type of deal, where code in Python has to be very carefully constructed and documented to be maintained properly, but the results you get from it can be formidable. However, considering all this, is Python truly the code of the future? The same article for Data Towards Science sums it up:

“As we’re witnessing the shift from desktop to smartphone, it’s clear that we need robust languages to build mobile software. But Python wasn’t made with mobile in mind. So even though it might produce passable results for basic tasks, your best bet is to use a language that was created for mobile app development. […] To be clear, laptops and desktop computers should be around for many years to come. But since mobile has long surpassed desktop traffic, it’s safe to say that learning Python is not enough to become a seasoned all-around developer.”

So even with all these downsides, the continued popularity of Python in software development is still up in the air. Although this language has found its place in machine learning and web development, if you’re a seasoned programmer and want to stay ahead of the curve, you have it in your repertoire right now. It may be replaced one day by a newer language with better mobile support, but for now, it’s still the most popular option out there. And even if that does happen, maintaining the current Python-based software means it will remain a basic skill that every programmer needs to know. Dynamic or just very confusing, Python is an interesting language that is worth understanding.

Scio is a Nearshore software development company based in Mexico where we believe that everyone deserves everyone should have the opportunity to work in an environment where they feel like a part of something. A place to excel and unlock their full potential which is the best approach to create a better world. We have been collaborating with US-based clients since 2003, solving challenging programming puzzles, and in the process showcasing the skills of Latin American Engineers. Want to be part of Scio? Get in contact today!