Banks must harness disruptive technologies and create their own or actively participate in digital ecosystems to remain at the heart of the banking universe, according to a global Economist Impact study, commissioned by Temenos, which surveyed 300 banks across the globe.
The report, “Byte-sized banking: Can banks create a true ecosystem with embedded finance?” finds that payment companies, technology and e-commerce disruptors are competing against banks with embedded finance solutions. Coupled with consumers’ growing expectations for better, more personalised products and services, this is forcing banks to assess the role they play and how they must adapt.
Almost four in five (79%) of survey respondents agree that banking will become “embedded” in consumers’ lives and businesses’ value chains. One in five banks in the survey expects their business model to evolve in the coming years to offer banking-as-a-service (BaaS) to brands and fintechs and enable embedded finance within their own products and services. Nearly twice as many want to retain the consumer-facing experience and act as a true digital ecosystem themselves.
Jonathan Birdwell, global head of policy and insights at Economist Impact, said: “New technology and customer demands are the top two trends expected to impact banking in the next five years. To maintain their direct connection with the consumer, banks are recognising that they must become true digital ecosystems. Customer-centricity will also drive banks to offer more embedded ESG and sustainable banking propositions to their customers in the future.”
Kanika Hope, chief strategy officer, Temenos, commented: “Banks need to tap expertise in new technologies like cloud and AI as well as collaborate with fintechs and technology companies to offer embedded finance as well as to build digital ecosystems. The case for the public cloud is becoming more apparent, with 51% of respondents agreeing that banks will no longer own any data centres due to the move to public cloud in the next five years. Environmental concerns have also joined the list of reasons— business agility, efficiency and security—why banks are accelerating the shift to the cloud.”
New technologies are expected to have the biggest impact on banks in the next five years, more than customer demands and changing regulations, according to 63% of respondents. “If you do not have modern technology, younger generations will not bank with you, it doesn't matter how long you've been around,” according to a bank CEO quoted in the report. Around 71% of respondents say unlocking value from AI will be the key differentiator between winners and losers with generative AI in particular expected to drive banking by 75% of respondents.
Collaboration with fintechs or other technology providers is key to accessing expertise in emerging technologies. Against this backdrop, banking executives surveyed foresee relationships within the industry evolving over the next one to three years. As many as 44% of survey respondents believe that banks will acquire majority stakes in fintechs and 32% believe that there will be market consolidation among challenger banks in the next one to three years.
About this research:
Economist Impact conducted a study, commissioned by Temenos, to understand emerging trends in the banking industry. This report presents insights from a global survey of 300 executives in retail, commercial and private banking spanning Europe (25%), North America (23%), Asia Pacific (18%), Middle East and Africa (17%), and Latin America (17%). Respondents perform various job functions, such as IT, customer service, finance, marketing and sales, strategy and business development, and general management, among others. Half of the respondents were C-suite executives. This is the seventh year that Economist Impact has conducted this survey. The research also included interviews with industry practitioners to gain further insights.
Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker