What the Article Says:
Frost & Sullivan, a growth partnership company, is hosting a Growth Innovation Leadership Council regarding Financial Technology and the Future of Financial Services in Chennai, India. The purpose of the conference is to provide an orientation on current trends in FinTech, how the sector is growing, and the opportunities it has with the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) industries. Jean-Noël Georges, the Global Program Director, says, “As advanced technologies alter the financial services ecosystem, tech-savvy consumers will seek out players that support accessibility, affordability, and availability.”
My Thoughts:
The most interesting part of the article, for me, was the discussion on how sustainable physical banks are, given the growth of FinTech. Mobile money/payments, disruptive authentication and biometrics, evolving insurance market dynamics, and the impact of emerging technologies such as Blockchain and quantum computing are making people’s lives easier, and giving less of a reason for banks to exist.
Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/will-fintech-make-banks-disappear-300411345.html
No points for guessing that the opportunity in Fintech is huge, but in my personal opinion it is very unlikely that the banks will disappear. The same banks, through strategic acquisitions and partnerships, can put an end to even the more cutting-edge technology solutions.
Your article is interesting because it is the opposite of my article, which talked about many fintech startups disappearing because they either cannot afford the marketing costs to attract users, or are being bought by big financial institutions. While many believe that fintech is a disruptive force towards banks, venture capitalists are starting to divert their investments away from fintech because they do not see the potential of a technology that can disrupt even a part of traditional banks. I am interested to see how the future of fintech plays out, and which side is correct.
Although all of these fintech solutions are paving a way to make finances easier for all customers, I feel that it will take quite some time before banks truly disappear if they do. Many banks are now incorporating financial technologies into their portfolios and providing their customers with easy access to their services while expanding on their services. With this, we may see less physical banks, but it will be interesting to see how banks continue to evolve.