Eliminate Manual Errors with Close Automation Software

As you set new goals for your finance team in 2025, it’s essential to reflect on past objectives—evaluating whether they were accomplished, adjusted, or abandoned, and understanding the reasons behind those outcomes.

For inspiration, consider this list of key developments that FinTech created, The Top 10 Financial Technology Trends for 2025, to shed some light on the path and the future of the fintech industry and Finance as a whole. Here’s a condensed look at the top trends transforming the industry, with a focus on automation and how it’s streamlining financial processes:

1. WealthTech: AI-driven portfolio management and automated tax optimization are revolutionizing wealth management, allowing for more personalized and efficient financial services. Millennials and Gen Z are increasingly seeking digital-first, automated solutions. Companies like Betterment and Addepar are leading the charge, streamlining the wealth management process through advanced automation.
2. Sustainable Fintech: Green fintech is transforming sustainable finance by integrating carbon footprint tracking and offering blockchain-based carbon credit trading. Companies like Aspiration and Clarity AI are at the forefront, responding to rising demand for transparent, eco-conscious financial services. This focus on automation also includes streamlining the way environmental impact is measured, aligning with broader finance and accounting goals.
3. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL): BNPL continues to evolve with improved credit assessments and regulatory oversight. AI is enhancing risk evaluation, while automation tools are ensuring more accurate affordability checks. Companies like Klarna and Block (Afterpay) are advancing this sector with smarter, more responsible lending solutions.
4. Regulatory Technology (RegTech): Reg-tech adoption is growing as AI and machine learning improve regulatory compliance. Firms like ComplyAdvantage and Chainalysis are helping institutions navigate the complexities of financial crime and transaction monitoring, reducing manual effort and automating processes to ensure quicker, more accurate reporting.
5. Embedded Finance: Non-financial companies are increasingly offering financial services through APIs, making banking and payments seamlessly integrated into everyday apps. This automation of financial services is helping to streamline processes, giving consumers and businesses easy access to payments, lending, and insurance without leaving their preferred digital experiences. Stripe and Plaid are leading the way in expanding these offerings.
6. Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs): CBDCs are advancing, with China’s Digital Yuan and the European Central Bank’s digital euro leading the way. Central banks are testing the waters with caution, focusing on financial stability, privacy concerns, and the automation of traditional financial processes. Partners like G+D (Giesecke+Devrient) and R3 ‘s Corda platform are developing the infrastructure necessary to support these innovations, contributing to more efficient financial systems across the globe.
7. Cybersecurity and Biometrics: As cyber threats rise; automation and biometric authentication are becoming essential in protecting financial services. Multi-modal biometrics and AI-powered threat detection systems are enhancing finance related automation by reducing the need for manual security checks and ensuring data integrity. Companies like OneSpan and BioCatch are at the forefront of strengthening security and streamlining authentication processes.
8. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and Open Banking: DeFi and Open Banking are finding common ground, with hybrid solutions emerging in lending and asset tokenization. This innovation is helping streamline financial processes in both traditional and decentralized finance, with automation reducing the complexity and cost of transaction processing. Companies like Aave Protocol and TrueLayer are bridging these systems, though regulatory challenges remain.
9. Robotic Process Automation (RPA): RPA is expanding in financial services, with AI-powered bots managing more complex tasks like credit assessments, and claims processing. This automation is eliminating manual errors in bookkeeping and increases efficiency, allowing finance and accounting teams to focus on higher-value tasks. Companies like UiPath and Blue Prism are leading in cognitive automation, enabling institutions to streamline operations and reduce costs.
10. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML): AI and ML are deeply integrated into financial services, driving advancements in customer service, fraud detection, and risk modeling. Companies like H2O.ai and DataRobot are providing sophisticated AI solutions to streamline financial operations and compliance.

These trends indicate that automation, streamlining financial processes, and AI are going to be the driving forces across the fintech industry in 2025. As the sector continues to evolve, businesses will need to leverage these technologies to stay competitive, reduce operational costs, and meet changing consumer and regulatory demands.

As businesses aim to optimize their financial operations in 2025, automation and technology play a crucial role in simplifying key processes like the financial close processes. Tools like SkyStem’s ART, a month-end close automation software, empower accounting teams to streamline financial close by automating general ledger reconciliations, reducing errors, and ensuring quicker, more accurate results. By leveraging automated reconciliation software, teams can accelerate the close efficiently. These technological innovations not only improve processes but also enhance overall productivity, enabling teams to focus on more strategic tasks and maintain a seamless, compliant, and efficient financial close process!