The fintech industry is becoming one of the go-to places for entrepreneurs looking to launch their careers into the internet space, and this not only creates business for the already thriving players in the market but also opens more doors for new ones to enter.

Fintech is the short form for financial technology, and thanks to pioneers of the industry like PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL), Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), and Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) AliPay in Asia, it has now become a common place in the online community to the extent that every business must think about it before launching an online platform.

At first, it was all about sending and receiving payments online, then a flurry of e-commerce platforms popularized online shopping as we know it, but over the last few years, the fintech industry has now stretched to other markets including asset finance, transportation, and credit, among others.

Some players like Rob Sinclair, a financial services platform focusing on the transport industry have come to bridge the gap between traditional banking institutions and the modern consumer who now prefers to do most of the transactions online. Some of the services include applying for an asset finance loan, upgrading to newer equipment, as well as, rent to own plans, among others.

Now, while the fintech industry has seemingly made things simpler for entrepreneurs to launch their businesses online. This does not come without risk. The online marketplace attracts some of the world’s best hackers including black hat hackers that prey on unsuspecting individuals and organizations. Hackers use a business’s online presence to penetrate its defenses against network data security, and according to cyber security experts, businesses can barely do enough to mitigate these threats if they are not well prepared.

The fact that fintech primarily refers to the online transfer of money, it means that hackers are on high alert on any businesses that launch their online platforms without significant protection against cyber-attacks. Companies like PayPal have had their fair share of attacks in the recent past and this is not going to go away easily.

Internet information provider Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO), which is close to being acquired by Verizon Communications (Nasdaq: VZ ) also revealed its encounters with hackers which ruined the proposed deal of $4.8 billion. However, Verizon has since revised the deal down to $4.48 billion following the revelation more than 1.5 billion Yahoo! accounts may have been affected by the data breach.

The fintech industry is an integral part of every business with presence online because, apart from features such as local search, most business launch their online platforms with intention of making money online.

Such activities include online selling as well as subscriptions to various products. In doing so, they subject their customers to potential threats as well, and this is the case in point for Yahoo! More than 1.5 billion customer accounts may have been exposed, and while everyone was advised to take the appropriate measures to protect themselves against potential financial losses or identity theft, a good chunk of those customers could have easily closed their accounts, a repercussion that would be adverse for Yahoo! This explains why Verizon had to revise figure downwards to reflect the added business risk.

Conclusion

In summary, business start-ups view the fintech industry as an opportunity to provide something new to the market while others see it as a way of adding a new revenue stream to their business model. However, there is a loud and clear threat that could scupper some of the advances made in the last few years.

Companies like Rob Sinclair could go a long way if they continue to utilize the services of various cyber security experts. And in return, this will be extending the all-around reach of the fintech industry in the online marketplace.

As for Yahoo! And Verizon, investors will be watching candidly to see how the deal eventually pans out. PayPal, on the other hand, will continue to benefit from the expansion of the fintech industry into new business segments like credit, insurance, and asset finance, among others.