The research from online training platform, FINTECH Circle Institute uncovered that 94% of financial services professionals suspect their colleagues of using buzzwords such as “Blockchain” and “Artificial Intelligence” without understanding their meaning. Over half (60%) claim that such bluffing is a common occurrence.

The industry professionals questioned felt that lack of training within financial services organisations was the biggest factor preventing some employees from developing their digital and FinTech skills, with 69% making this claim. Meanwhile, 22% say financial services professionals are putting off developing their digital skills out of fear that it’s too late to catch up with existing FinTech experts.

This is despite the vast majority of financial services professionals believing that promotions should favour the most tech-savvy employees, meaning traditional financial services experts could be at risk of falling behind their digital-friendly colleagues. Of the 1,400 people questioned, 84% claimed that colleagues with advanced digital and FinTech skills, but half the years of experience, are more deserving of promotion than a colleague who has been in the industry for at least ten years.

Susanne Chishti, CEO and founder of the FINTECH Circle Institute commented: “It’s worrying to think that financial services professionals believe it’s too late to build their digital and FinTech skills, while others are bluffing their skillset. As the study shows, in today’s financial services industry, there is a direct link between genuine digital knowledge and promotion prospects. We’ve developed the FINTECH Circle Institute to empower financial professionals with practical FinTech knowledge.”

Launching today, the FINTECH Circle Institute is a peer-to-peer online learning platform, designed to empower finance professionals with the necessary digital skills to adapt to the rapidly changing industry. With board members ranging from traditional banks and FinTech experts, through to academics from leading universities, the platform will offer a combination of practical bitesize courses on topics including Blockchain, RegTech and Robo-banking. Financial professionals and aspiring digital finance experts are invited to sign up here to take advantage of the launch offer (Save 50% - Get a 4 years membership for the prize of 2 years for only £500).

Kaushalya Somasundaram, head of fintech partnerships and strategy, HSBC commented: “FinTech knowledge is not a “nice to have”, but an essential asset for anyone working in financial services. I’m excited to collaborate with other banking, FinTech and academic experts, to build a platform that will enable individuals to boost their career prospects, while bringing real value to enterprises and ultimately fuelling innovation across the entire industry.”

Markos Zachariadis, Associate Professor at Warwick Business School and FinTech Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge added: “Continuous self-improvement and upskilling is crucial both for an individual’s own prospects but also for the benefit of their organisation and the wider industry. In an era where financial services are undergoing major digital transformation it is even more crucial to not only keep up to-date with current FinTech trends but also understand how technology can be used strategically to transform the entire sector. Being able to access a platform where you can find bitesize courses taught by peers and other experts from academia and the industry is invaluable.”