The world of banking and financial services has changed vastly in recent years. Even before the pandemic, the space had been increasingly catalysed by a wave of rapid digitalisation that has served to expand the number and variety of products available across the market.
Revolut, a UK-based neobank valued at $33 billion with 16 million customers, has raced to the top of its nation’s most successful start-ups list since its beginnings in 2015 and is just one spot down from the top of Europe’s. What is behind its quick ascension? What are its plans to expand? Are there any concerns that may slow it down?
In the banking industry, there is little question that COVID-19 forced digital adoption at an unparalleled rate. Years-long timelines for preplanned digital transformations were suddenly condensed into a matter of months — as “shelter in place” mandates forced consumers across the globe to move their financial activities online.
Utilising several of the new waves of disruptive technologies such as big-data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing, neobanks across the world are fundamentally transforming the very notion of banking. And given the restrictive impact that the coronavirus pandemic is having on the global population,
If there was ever a time for banks to rise to a challenge, it is now, as COVID-19 ravages the physical and financial health of millions. The Great Recession, created largely by banking malpractice, prompted positive changes in banking but revealed serious shortfalls in customer service. This time around, can banks stand behind all of their customers, provide crucial aid wherever needed and offer much-needed hope for a better future?
There are enough new terms floating around banking to make one’s head spin, and along comes greenfield bank. This refers to the growing trend among incumbent banks to create standalone digital banks that are as agile and innovative as the fintechs and neobanks. After considering how difficult and expensive it is proving to be for banks to break out of their legacy-infrastructure moulds, this approach makes a lot of sense.