The banking landscape is entering a new era, with real-time payments and new regulations sweeping across the financial world. Andrew Beatty, senior VP of global banking at FIS, outlines the key innovations to Briony Richter
In the UK, the Open Banking environment is pushing banks to expand their boundaries by improving the customer experience and delving into new ways to deliver their services.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Globally, the financial industry is moving to adopt more real-time cross-border payment solutions. FIS continues to support clients with connectivity to new and existing realtime payments schemes.
Explaining his objectives, Andrew Beatty states: “My role is to drive the banking and digital solutions strategy for FIS across the globe. In practical terms, this means creating solution-based propositions that enable banks and new entrants to capitalise on opportunities and address market-specific needs and challenges.
“It is an incredibly exciting time to be doing this. Consumers who are familiar with instant and accessible services such as Uber, Deliveroo and Airbnb expect banks to offer the same type of innovative and frictionless customer experience. This sharp change in the market has spurred the creation of new offerings from challenger and neo-banks, pushing incumbent banks to invest in new technology to stay ahead of the competition. Robotics, artificial intelligence [AI] and machine learning are all part of the toolkit we use to improve performance and service for customers by providing concise insights through relevant data. This is truly shaping what banking will look like in five, 10 and 20 years’ time.”
The process of exploring new solutions and use cases can take time. Open Banking and GDPR came into play very quickly; however, progress has been slow. FIS expects to see Open Banking in the UK take off more vigorously this year with new partnership and more transparency.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataBeatty also notes that FIS will continue to develop several new customer-centric and digital-first services with incumbent banks that have the advantage of scale to reach their customer base with new offerings. As banks begin to turn away from legacy systems, they remove the barriers stopping them from creating modern systems. FIS will support banks in transitioning to these systems that create frictionless multi-channel banking.
With Open Banking also came new competition, and while Beatty notes that this is not necessarily a threat, there are proactive routes that banks can take to stay ahead.
“I see this as being a similar choice to the one the Blockbuster video chain faced when it had the opportunity to purchase Netflix years ago. Had they gone down a path toward collaboration on innovation rather than staying in competition with new players, things might have turned out very differently for them,” Beatty states.
“In banking, we are beginning to witness a shift away from competition towards collaboration because, to an extent, challenger banks and incumbents both desire what the others have. While considered ‘agile’, neobanks are restricted to much smaller portfolios and don’t have the same stronghold over their consumer base as incumbents.
“Starling’s announcement with RBS and rumours of BBVA buying Atom are both excellent examples of this change in approach. Similarly, it is becoming more commonplace for fintechs to participate actively in the incumbent and challenger bank marketplaces.
“We expect to see further engagement and collaboration throughout 2019, which will push forward mutually beneficial innovations.”
Banking on AI
AI technology has moved into the banking mainstream, making processes more streamlined and frictionless. AI offers profound benefits, but can also present risks if not managed carefully.
“We are beginning to see AI have an impact on all areas of modern banking,” notes Beatty.
“Machine learning, as well as natural language processing and generation, are a big focus for the front and middle office, while analytics provide support throughout the process. Robo-advice is arguably the most notable example of this.
“As the underlying technology develops and scales up, it is fascinating to see how it integrates with human intelligence – for example with wealth managers whose time is freed up to focus on tasks that require human integrity such as maintaining customer relationships.”
Banks are increasingly gaining access to data, enabling them to reshape business models and develop new products and solutions based on in-depth customer insight. Overall, this enhances customer interaction and will bring banks into a new era of ‘conversational banking’.
Speaking about how FIS can support banks to embrace the new landscape, Beatty concludes: “We have invested in building new platforms that allow incumbent banks to modernise at their own pace, following individual strategies, priorities and growth plans. The key is to develop flexible, agile solutions that are easy to deploy.
“It’s also worth remembering that wholesale replacement of legacy technology can be high-risk, and could potentially paralyse the bank for an extended period. It’s not only about what tech is being installed: the delivery and conversion are just as important. Players like FIS, for example, can mitigate failures in delivery due to our scale and experience in delivering modernisation solutions.
“Everyone can eventually attain attractive technology, agility and so on – but the ones who get the right tech and the right delivery are the most successful.”
