Smartphone provides catalyst for change
A new report from Lafferty
Group entitled Smart Bank 2025 examines
how changes in technology and the rapid adoption of new payment and banking
solutions will determine the delivery of retail banking services and impact on
bank organisation and strategies over the next decade. The report
highlights the ubiquitous nature and game-breaking potential of smartphones. There
are currently over a billion smartphones in operation worldwide and this number
is growing at an annual rate of 40 percent. Major banks have committed to
a smartphone interface and already have smartphone applications available.
In considering how the retail
banking industry will evolve over the next eleven years, Smart Bank 2025 focuses on
- The changing role of cash and cheques – demonstrating how cash may be accessed using a mobile device and the diminished role (and in some cases the elimination) of paper cheques worldwide
- Implications of technology for bank branches as a delivery channel – whereby branch reductions are becoming the norm for many major banks
- The evolution and speed of take-up of new delivery channels – as e-banking takes off and customers increasingly make payments and access their accounts using a mobile device
- Catalysts for the next wave of advancements
- Issues involved in integrating e-banking with the bank’s service offer
Smart Bank
2025 provides a plan of action for early adopters
responding to evolving technologies. It defines actions required to
prepare, organise, orientate and activate the bank’s resources in a fast
changing environment.
Report author Jerome Svigals believes
that banks that fail to adapt to new technologies and changing customer needs
are in danger of being left behind. He said “Banks must not
underestimate the speed of change. The following decade will see
significant changes not just in technology but in customer expectations of the
level of service banks provide. Meanwhile, the number of cellphones is
equivalent to 91 percent of the world’s population and smartphone usage
is growing rapidly. Why is this important for the banks? Effectively
consumers are paying for an important part of the banking infrastructure.”
So how will
a successful retail bank look in 2025? Michael Lafferty, chairman of
Lafferty Group, explained “Banks of the future will need to be leaner,
meaner and more responsive to customer needs. They will need to provide
the service customers want wherever they are and whenever they want it.
In a competitive environment, only innovative and flexible institutions will
succeed.”
