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Our Senior Business Consultant, Adrian van Niekerk, attended the third annual FinTech summit in Sydney where a number of fintech leaders shared their thoughts and insights on disruption and innovation in the banking industry.
Several high-profile speakers were in attendance, including Jason Yetten, CEO of SocietyOne, a loans provider; Olga Oleinikova, CEO and Co-Founder of Persollo, an e-commerce solution; and Anthony Millet, CEO of BRICKX, a property investment platform.
The panel discussions covered burning topics in the sector, such as the changing demands of the customer in the digital age; how mobile tech is transforming the face of banking as we know it; and the need to balance innovation with regulatory requirements.
The top insights we took away include:
Millennials are driving disruption. The expectations and demands of the customer are changing – especially with the rise of tech-savvy millennials (18 – 34-year-olds) as a primary customer base. Currently, 60% of millennials interact with at least one Fintech company, with further Fintech engagement forecasted over the next 12 months.
Customers will enjoy interconnected platforms – but privacy is an issue. As the Fintech sector grows, the power will shift to the customer, with banking services interconnected and transferable across multiple devices. However, this interconnection is likely to reduce privacy of information.
Mobile tech is on the rise, but at a cost. Consumer appetite for convenience is driving innovation on the mobile tech front. Quick and easy solutions are what customers want when accessing banking services. Face-to-face customer service experiences remain a customer demand, but there is a great risk that human ‘touch points’ will disappear in favour of tech solutions.
Regulation a barrier to unlocking data. Fintechs are struggling to compete with big banks. Regulation is causing barriers to entry and typically favouring the established players. Data unlocking policies are being considered as a potential solution, however, open data regulations raise ownership concerns.
