It’s a well-known fact that an employee’s level of wellbeing is directly related to their level of productivity. However, we often constitute wellbeing as mental and physical health only, ignoring the importance of financial health that plays a significant role in our overall wellbeing. Financial well-being refers to having a sense of security money-wise and having strong control over your day-to-day expenses while saving enough for your future.
While mental and physical well-being is just as important, an employee’s financial well-being should be a priority too. Although some business leaders have taken a lead and are trying to provide financial comfort to their employees in the form of paid leaves, interest-free loans, etc., fintech mogul Andrew Anastasiou believes fintech can help employees further promote the cause.
Andrew Anastasiou is a banking professional and Fintech entrepreneur. Born on the 11th of December 1988 in London, the 31-year-old has evolved into one of the most thriving entrepreneurs of 2020. Owing to his exceptional entrepreneurial abilities and innovative Fintech solutions, Andrew has not only become a prominent name in the Fintech industry but has also managed to secure 3 prestigious awards this year: UK Future 100 Award, European Start-up Entrepreneur Award, and European Scale-up Entrepreneur Award.
There’s no doubt that employees’ financial well-being is vital for increasing productivity and engagement and lowering the rate of turnover in the workplace, but according to Andrew, Fintech offers every employer a unique chance to care about and be supportive of their employees’ financial health. Responsible financial institutions and business leaders can leverage it to offer insurance, sustainable credit offerings, lucrative investment opportunities, and other financial products to their employees.
Fintech is an innovative technology that allows employees to pay for their benefits directly and also access them anytime without any additional costs or effort for the HR. Simply put, it’s a win-win situation for everyone. “With the UK fintech industry worth billions now, one can clearly see the potential this industry has and the ability it has to offer positive solutions to businesses from all other industries” says Andrew.
He further added that with the COVID-19 pandemic taking a toll on the mental and financial health of millions of employees around the globe, managers and other business leaders need to shift their focus and come up with innovative solutions to reduce the stress on employees. Fintech can help them do just that.
For example, Moola – an online investing and savings service – is helping companies incorporate their business platform into existing employee benefit portals and providing employees with saving plans and advices from highly-qualified mentors to help them reach their financial goals. Apart from this, there are now many personal finance apps too, including Mint, Level Money, and Pennies, that help individuals track their expenses, give them timely reminders for bill payments, and so on. These apps are user-friendly and can assist employers in educating employees about financial literacy.
According to Andrew, fintech is not just restricted to apps and integration of platforms. Even when integration is not an option, employers can use fintech as a valuable data generator and informant. Through the use of fintech, these parties can get an insight on their employees’ financial stability and health, which can help in pointing out the financial pain points of employees and also targeting them effectively.
In a nutshell, it can be said that fintech is changing the dynamics of workplace health and wellbeing by helping employers in improving employee engagement, building resilience, and most importantly, increasing productivity. And that is not it; while the latest applications and platforms powered by fintech offer remarkable benefits to both employees and employers, Andrew Anastasiou is optimistic that the future holds even greater potential.