Trends
Both retail banking and business banking are subject to a number of emerging trends. Let’s take a quick look at the most important ones.
1. Digital and emerging technologies
New technologies are drastically changing the banking and capital markets in the front, middle and back office. Automation, case management, and artificial intelligence provide valuable opportunities that belonged in the realm of science fiction just a couple of decades ago. Cloud technology is changing the industry and has profound implications for many operational areas. Combining legacy systems and these new applications is a challenge that many organisations face.
2. Organisational flexibility
The ever-increasing speed of innovation provides plenty of new opportunities. Competitive advantage is therefore no longer obtained from being big, but rather from the ability to adapt quickly to new opportunities and possibilities. Banks must embrace these changes and incorporate the full power of digital innovation in short innovation cycles.
3. Cybercrime and compliance
Cybercriminals who target financial organisations are also constantly adopting new, innovative technologies. On top of that, regulators are enforcing increasingly strict guidelines and heavier fines for violations. The possible reputational damage resulting from security breaches is considerable and potentially disastrous. Banks should therefore deploy advanced analysis technologies to detect threats and fraud at the earliest possible stage.
4. Data integrity and analysis
Data is the new gold. And although data is all around us, this information is not always easily accessible, integrated or structured. Banks must therefore gear their (IT) strategy towards the correct and optimal usage of the large datasets that are available in the digital age.
5. The future of work
What will future processes look like? The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and large-scale automation definitely changes the relationship between the human and digital components of your workforce. It takes different and new skills to stay ahead in the digital age. Banks have to decide if they are going to lead the change and must develop strategies that allow them to foster exceptional talent in the long run.
6. Cooperating with the digital ecosystem
The entire digital ecosystem of financial service providers is growing, often at a breakneck speed. Legislators, fintechs, major banks and other specialists have to collaborate more often and more intensively. A good strategy to manage these ever-expanding digital ecosystems is becoming increasingly important. This means that the effective orchestration of data exchange must also be properly arranged. All components of the ecosystem must work together seamlessly from an operational viewpoint, but they also have to be flexibly deployable to meet rapidly changing market and customer demands.