Worldwide economic growth is sparking a rapid fintech expansion, redefining the financial services industry through a digital banking revolution where advancing technologies meet standard bank practices. Financial institutions look to keep pace in this fast-moving digital arena by adopting online platforms that promote operational efficiency and streamline customer services. However, determining which innovations to provide and how to go about them can be challenging. As such, companies should first explore all available fintech options and how each shapes the banking landscape.

How is Fintech Shaping the Future of Banks?

Fintech companies employ innovative technologies to deliver enhanced financial services, allowing them to jump ahead of conventional institutions. These services traverse all primary banking services, including lending, bond and equity trading, insurance, and risk management.

This industry-wide revolution leaves banks with no choice but to adapt to survive by emphasizing digital solutions to boost the customer experience. Those boosts include the following:

• Improved customer satisfaction: Fintech is resurrecting customer satisfaction, making it, once again, a top business priority. Evolving digital solutions mean rising expectations as consumers demand everything be more accessible and happen faster. The banking industry is no exception, and financial institutions must integrate fintech features to compete.
• Seamless software integration: Banks can easily integrate fintech solutions into their existing bank platforms via application program interfaces (APIs). The seamless implementation provided by these APIs minimizes disruptions that can lead to customer service difficulties, allowing banks to focus on day-to-day operations such as new account openings, underwriting, and collections of non-payments.
• More robust customer solutions: Fintech can deliver effective banking solutions by identifying, fully understanding, and addressing customer demands, and in a tech-heavy society, those demands often include speed and remote access. Fintech companies respond by providing valuable add-on features, such as online and mobile banking and lending options, to deepen their services pool.
• Better Cybersecurity: Financial institutions are prime targets for hackers, and they must prioritize cybersecurity. With up-to-date digital countermeasures, customer assets are safer, which improves cybersecurity by providing more substantial user access restrictions, document encryption, and enhanced firewalls.
• More Partnerships: A global digital revolution sparks competition, and competition sparks a race to provide the best customer satisfaction. However, fintech companies and banks typically excel at different aspects of the customer journey, and providing the best of both sometimes requires a partnership. A melding of services provides customers with a better experience than either enterprise could provide on a stand-alone basis.

How are Banks Evolving?

Banks now recognize the need to evolve as organizations and incorporate fintech features into their day-to-day operations. Those implementation methods include:

Melding Technology and Finance

Combining technology and financial products is a competitive advantage that can help banks evolve and severely disrupt the market. Digital solutions that banks might consider are as  follows:

• Developing multiple channels to provide more digital payment options 
• Developing granular and tailored services using big data and Artificial Intelligence
• Using technology (software, mobile, Internet of Things) to integrate multi-service delivery better and remove friction from the customer journey
• Using AI and apps to automate tedious tasks
• Building partnerships between banks and fintech companies via APIs and open banking 
• Changing organizations from tech purchasers to solution developers
• Responding to new and growing banking laws and conforming to them. 
• Automating and improving risk management, as well as establishing an agile culture and process
• Taking care of audit needs is frequently manifested as a concern that requires a rapid response

Many of these technologies are still in their infancy. There are a limited number of workers employed in these sectors, with an even smaller group of professionals in specialized technologies like AI and related fields that help promote banking automation. Financial institutions must take a closer look at tech businesses to attract and maintain the necessary expertise to continue improving services.

Incorporating Agile Processes

Agility is becoming increasingly important in the banking industry. Financial products, such as customer financing, credit cards, or reward programs, were traditionally defined and rolled out using a relatively linear and stagnant process, similar to traditional product development.

However, banks are now adopting agile approaches learned from fintech, such as creating multi-functional customer resolution teams that use collaborative platforms to identify, develop, and launch sought-after products. This process is iterative and agile thanks to digital enhancements, and as a result, banks have enjoyed a significant reduction in the launch time of these products.

Skeps Can Help You Join The Digital Banking Revolution

The world is going digital, and to keep up, financial institutions must adjust by joining the banking revolution and improving their digital services. Customers expect features such as online banking, mobile apps, and automated and contactless payment options to be commonplace as we move forward. Addressing and meeting those expectations means embracing the coming together of finance and technology.