How FIs can transform to ride the digitalisation wave

Banks and insurance companies that are able to transform themselves will be well placed to benefit from digitalisation. However, most companies remain unprepared.

According to a 2015 pan-European survey by Arthur D. Little, financial institutions are less adapted to digitalisation than the cross-industry average. Although most companies have undergone considerable investments in order to update their IT capabilities and architecture, other key functional aspects are lagging behind, organisation being one of the most critical ones.

Millennials demand digital banking

Millennials hold the key to the future of banking. By 2018, they will have the highest spending power of any generation, and by 2025 three quarters of workers globally will be a millennial. Challenging the status quo, a third of millennials don’t believe they’ll need a bank in the next five years.

Apathy towards traditional banks is born of frustration. For a generation who have embraced the likes of Google, Amazon and Uber, feeling the need to use a physical branch to make financial decisions is unappealing.

Agile banking needs a new core

If you had the chance to design a bank from scratch using only one system, what would it look like?

When we started to run our banking services, we had a look at the banking value chain. Banks produce services directly for clients 'at the front'. Less visible and much more important: 'in the back', banks provide complex technical infrastructure for processing, accounting and regulatory tasks. At the front, there’s plenty of new competition. Fintech start-ups usually pick cherries from the front-end banking businesses. But they still rely on crucial processes from the old banking infrastructure.

This article originally appeared on JAXenter.com

Banking technology in Asia: the place to be

Everyone who is anyone in the banking software space wants to do business in Asia, and for a good reason: the region is as buoyant as ever.

The established markets are getting even more sophisticated in their technology consumption (if you are in Singapore, why not try out an NFC-enabled wristband to pay for your commute, travel, shopping and eating out?).

What's the deal with Finacle?

Infosys swimming pool, Bangalore.

I ask the question just after news that its erstwhile head, Haragopal Mangipudi, left Infosys to be replaced by SAP veteran Michael Reh. This was the first senior change carried out by Infosys' new CEO, Vishal Sikka, who joined the company in August.

Sibos: day two round-up

@Swift

Day two of Sibos continued the theme of collaboration, with more focus on standards, market infrastructures and new technologies under the spotlight.

Have European banks given up on core banking system replacements?

© www.itrw.net

Despite the emergence of new technology and increasing competition, it seems the replacement of core banking systems is not on the agenda for European banks. Instead, banks are investing in niche IT projects to not only maintain their existing systems, but to introduce incremental changes, which can provide a quick return on investment (ROI) and meet their business and consumer needs.

New challengers to the UK banking market

Welcome to the IBS table of the challengers to the UK banking market.  

We have put together a list of financial institutions looking for business in the UK.

More details on the core system decisions of the respective banks can be found on the IBS website.

We welcome any input to the table and will be making regular updates, so if you would like to add to the list please contact us via email or the comments section below.

SAP Financial Services Forum: The inside track

This week’s SAP Financial Services Forum in London was a reminder of the supplier’s strengths and weaknesses in this sector. It was also a reminder of just how far SAP has moved in the last few years from its Walldorf and ERP centricity. In part through some major acquisitions, of course, it is now far more diverse and international than it was, with this also a key reason for almost ten per cent of its revenues now coming from the financial services sector.

Misys' EMEA market forum: the inside track

Jordi Cruz, Masterchef Spain's presenter,
and gin and tonic bubbles with mango sorbet

Last week’s Misys EMEA Market Forum in Barcelona was relatively upbeat, with more than 500 bankers, technologists and analysts in attendance. CEO Nadeem Syed kicked off his opening plenary outlining Misys’ vision and introducing yet another rebranding of its offerings into a ‘Fusion Family’ – Fusionbanking, Fusioninvest, Fusioncapital and
Fusionrisk.

Atom Bank: second mover advantage

It’s easy to be critical of the branch-first strategy of Metro Bank in the digital age, but listening to Anthony Thomson at the launch of Fiserv’s new Agiliti system gives one a more sympathetic perspective. The cumbersome regulatory process cost the bank millions; the payments system was jealously guarded by the existing high street banks; and the capital requirement was huge, even at a time when the industry was gasping for collateral.

Heightened competition? Be careful what you wish for...

Heightened competition in any sector is typically seen as desirable, giving greater choice to consumers and encouraging better pricing and service levels, but it is seldom this simple. For one thing, it can be a case of, 'be careful what you wish for'. In financial services, payday loan companies have brought more choice, for instance, but not in a good way. And if the additional choice is just more entities providing the same types of service with the same business models as the incumbents, does this really help?

Signs of life in the UK core banking market.....at last

Is the UK core banking software market finally showing signs of life? Vendors large and small are flocking back to the once dormant space as around 25 entities are waiting for approval from the country's regulator, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to launch banking operations.