Digital banking innovations, powerful data analytics, robotic process automation, and alternative payment methods will continue to shake up financial services and sectors in 2018, as indicated by the latest PwC Fintech Surveys. Here is an overview of what to expect.
Consumer Banking
Almost 80% of senior managers of large institutions surveyed in the PwC research view the consumer banking as the most disruptive financial services sector.
Online banking apps have proven very popular for the past years, allowing consumers to perform various transactions on their devices, from virtually anywhere in the world, reducing dependence on physical banking interactions.
Payments and transfers have also diversified to include alternative payment methods and currencies such as Bitcoin, new digital apps, and the digitisation of cash transfers via electronic devices.
Fintech trends for 2018 indicate a new focus on lending innovations in the consumer sector, where online lending platforms make an appearance to facilitate the borrow and lending process for both parties involved, thus reducing reliance on banks.
The reality of blockchain, the distributed ledger technology, and its applications for disruptive financial services will also make a move towards improving customer-centric banking processes (think about a lending model innovation) and lowering operating costs.
Insurance and Asset Management
The insurance and asset management sectors will be interesting to watch throughout 2018 and beyond, with insurtech disruptions on a higher scale than anticipated, according to PwC analysts.
Both industries are currently facing new challenges with new business models emerging and shifting customer behaviour. User experience has become more important than ever, and automated user interfaces and robotic process automation hold the key to further simplifying business models and processes.
The ability to mine and analyse increasing amounts of data will play a key role in the optimisation of operations and technology processes. The use of software robots and machine learning in data-driven operations will have a transformative effect, allowing consultants to focus more on personal interactions and individual consultancy.
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