Financial-technology and financial-services firms are transitioning from competitors to partners, exploiting the advantages and resources that each offers—with fintechs bringing technological proficiency and agility and banks providing large and loyal customer bases. Four recent partnerships confirm just how rewarding these unions can be.
Equal pay and equal opportunity make sense, but gender inequalities persist in financial services. However, progress is being made, with more women being installed in senior management and board positions in financial firms. There is much room for more progress, though. Chief executive positions, for example, remain largely filled by men.
The digital customer experience has become a key differentiator for banks, particularly for big players seeking to stay relevant against their nimbler counterparts. This has become even more important during COVID-19, when institutions have been expected to provide clear and transparent services to support and protect customers as they navigate the pandemic’s many challenges.
The financial services (FS) and travel industries first became interconnected in the 1970s, when the only people who could afford to travel were those with demonstrably disposable incomes. Driven by FS’ desire to approach this same audience, a beautiful partnership was formed.
Imagine a time when banks functioned without computers. It’s literally unimaginable. The computer has become the banker’s best friend. Today, banking is on the brink of another great leap in innovation that may re-create the industry as we know it: quantum computing. Based on quantum mechanics, this developing technology promises lightning-fast processing speeds that boggle the mind. But before vision becomes reality, much preparation work still needs to be completed.
To date, there have been several significant landmarks that have been achieved by cryptocurrency during its decade-long evolution into a legitimate asset class. US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) regulation, token sales and coin offerings, derivatives-market maturation and development of government and central-bank digital currencies
Technology is bringing an assortment of benefits to consumers and their banks but also a slew of new or heightened risks. In the UK, regulatory authorities are addressing the looming threats by rolling out proposals related to Operational Resilience (OpRes). UK financial firms will be expected to adhere to new rules during the second half of 2021 and need to start preparing as the journey to compliance will be arduous.
According to a report commissioned by the UK’s Treasury, Britain’s financial services system is experiencing an existential skills crisis. Why? As digital start-ups have moved quickly to offer desirable working benefits such as flexible hours or learning and development opportunities, financial institutions have been comparably slow to react to new workplace demands.
It is hard to believe that we just wrapped up another year. The beginning of a new year is one of the best times to both reflect on the previous years successes, while looking ahead at what the biggest challenges, priorities and opportunities will be for companies as they enter the new year.
Although banks have been in financial services longer than anyone else, they have a thing or two to learn about customer service from the mammoths in the retail sector. Retail subscription services are taking off, promising to deliver combinations of products conformed to the needs and likes of customers, whose preferences are well known from data analyses. What similar steps can banks adopt in their drive to augment customer satisfaction?