What will the future of banking look like? Just what the innovators will make it be.
Advances in technology, regulatory changes, new entrants to the market… In the past couple of years, banking has gone through big changes and more is to come. They keep saying the ‘future has never been as uncertain as now’ year after year, decade after decade. But in banking, this time it might be true. A lot of things are changing and a lot of things will change. And with it, a lot of challenges are coming. But more importantly: also opportunities. So, what should innovators focus to get the most of it all?
Technology is driving the change
When you talk about the future of banking you just can’t not talk about advances in technology. They are making things possible we couldn’t even imagine just couple years ago. No, even months if not just weeks ago. In fact, behind the success of many fintech startups has been mastering new technologies like AI, big data or blockchain and thus being able to create something completely new and revolutionary for the customers. And that has been one of the key reasons the little and new entrants have been able to challenge the old giants, banks.
For innovators embracing the technological changes and even new technologies is a must. Advances in technology and innovation go hand in hand. Like blockchain and bitcoin. And the first innovation is just the beginning. Just think about the innovations that have come and especially the innovations that are coming because of the blockchain.
While it is impossible to be the master of every single technology, innovators have to keep their eyes open. See what’s out there, what’s up-and-coming. And then use the opportunities that become possible. The players that refuse to adopt the new and/or evolving technologies are the ones who will lose. Just like many banks have noticed.
The future is mobile
It hasn’t been long when computers were huge, the size of rooms. Now they fit in a pocket and can do so much more. So so much more, especially with things related to banking.
Usage of mobiles is growing fast. Incredibly fast. And it is no wonder considering how handy they are, far from just calling and texting. Now we can handle our money usage, savings, investments, pay our bills, transfer money to our friends in an instant, pay for a haircut, do our accounting… and those are just some examples from digital banking. That’s a huge jump from storing our cash under a mattress or going to our banks’ physical location to let the employees do something magical behind the desk. Now the customers have control over everything. We can choose exactly the services we want and exactly how we want to use them, and when we want to use them.
And it is not just about making mobile versions of old services. Smartphones have made completely new things possible. For example, the spread of phones has been the key to fintech’s success in China and India. People who didn’t even have access to any banking services now have a phone, with what they now have access to exactly the kind of banking services they need. Mobile is completely changing the game. And innovators need to remember that.
Customer behavior is changing and millennials are ruling
The most hated, loved, talked about generation now is millennials, at least if you read any online news sites. And innovators should take notice.
Millennials are not only the cat video and selfie-loving generation: for example in America millennials will make more than 1 out of 3 adults by 2020 and 75% of the workforce by 2025. And America is not a unicorn. In just few years millennials will be the ones with the biggest consumption power and the ones making making decisions in corporations. If innovators ever want people and companies to buy their solutions, they need to know how millennials work. How they consume, how they make decisions, and especially, how they are different from the previous consumer majorities.
For example, millennials don’t share the previous generations’ love for owning things like houses and cars. They like to share them. And when they do want to own them, it’s usually later than the previous generations wanted. Millenials are diginative and put huge emphasis on companies’ presence online, especially in social media. And unlike the previous generations, millennials are obsessed with corporate social responsibility. In fact, 75% said that it’s either fairly or very important that a company gives back to society instead of just making a profit. In short, they are critically different from the previous generations.
Millennials and their quirks should be in the minds of innovators when planning, when creating, and when selling – throughout the whole journey of innovation.
Collaboration is a must – know how to do it
In banking the past years have been dominated by fierce competition between banks and fintech startups – the old rulers and the new challengers. But now the fierce competition has had to give space for fierce collaboration. Banks and startups have realized joining forces makes a lot of sense. Collaboration is now a must – for all innovators.
But just the willingness to collaborate isn’t enough. Innovators on both sides also need to know how to collaborate. Startups and corporations are after like two completely different creatures – the differences in their pros and cons and how they are complementary are, after all, why collaboration between the two makes sense. But that also poses many challenges to collaborating.
There are countless articles about how banks need to collaborate with startups and especially how they need to change to be able to do that. To not to smother the startups with their processes. But likewise, the startups need to know how to collaborate with the corporation. Many deals have been lost for stupid reasons, in essence, not understanding the other party.
For example, where is the user data stored is a question many bank and startups approach differently. The answer from some startups is ”Not sure, somewhere. Probably in some kind of a cloud. My co-founder might know…”. But for banks where and how data is stored and protected is one of the big things that keep them awake at night.
These are some of the big themes visible in banking now that innovators need to keep in mind. That is why they are also themes in the Yes Fintech accelerator by our Global Fintech Accelerator partner YES BANK. Take a more detailed look here, and see what kind of innovations banks are really looking for. And if you already happen to have an innovation that matches those themes, apply to the accelerator.
YES BANK
YES BANK is one of the strongest players in one of the hottest fintech markets; India, and the Yes Fintech accelerator also shows that. The perks will make the participating startups giddy (straight access to the huge customer base and YES BANK’s extensive market knowledge, huge number of APIs, investment opportunities, global fintech market access, coaching…. just to name few), as were the results from the last accelerator (e.g. 9/10 solutions from the accelerator were taken up by YES BANK. 90%! Not many bank accelerators can say the same!).
YES BANK has adopted a new approach to Banking, called A.R.T – Alliances, Relationships & Technology (A.R.T) approach to Digitized Banking. They are a good example of a major player in banking who has really taken on the collaboration part as they have already partnered with over 100+ fintechs to deliver best services to their customers. And thus the selected startups in Yes Fintech accelerator will be in good, no: great hands! Read more about the accelerator benefits for startups here.
Finding opportunities instead of threats
What differentiates innovators from the others is that innovators see opportunities where others see threats. Instead of shivering in fear and hiding under their blankets when someone mentions new technologies, changes in regulations or any of the usual commonly mentioned boogie men, they start looking for the opportunities in them. What could we do with this new technology? How could this new regulation be used to create new and serve our customers better?
The future of banking is made by the innovators. The startups, the banks and the ones who take on the opportunities instead of hiding from the threats. And that’s why innovators will also be the winners of the future.
Read more about the YES FINTECH accelerator here and apply now! Deadline the 14th of October 2017!
