Digital Banking 24

Omnipresence

Dear all

I would love to start with a chart that has been sent to me by a very good friend from the UK. I believe the chart is fascinating, as long as provide us with an idea of how big the world is.

And this "minute" comes again and again 1,440 times along the day. And all these sites are available all day long. And all these sites can be accessed from anywhere in the world (assuming internet access is available). And all these sites can be accessed from any phone with internet access all day .... let's start understanding "omnipresence". 

The user is mobile [something that goes with our human nature ... or not human, think about cars, robots, ...]. Digital is "omnipresence". Digital banking is the one present where the user is (... and channel to be chosen).

In digitally mature markets, mobile banking is not growing at the same rate as it used to - bankinnovation.net/2016/01/growth-slows-for-mobile-banking-users-at-the-nations-largest-banks/. But keep in mind that

• We still have more and more mobile banking user. The growth rate just happens to be different. 

• Digital banking users may keep on growing at higher rates. They just happen to be using channels different to mobile.

• The decrease in the growth rate for mobile banking user may have been predictable. The starting point is higher from one period to another.

• In any case, I believe we are still far from the asymptote. 

Other fact I have found fascinating in the article is that the number of 'unique' customers accessing mobile banking has already surpassed the number of "unique" customers visiting the branch per day. I believe banks have already reached the threshold required to analyze what customers want and can do in the branch and what customers want and can do in mobile. Do as retailers do, just go and ask.

Moving on, and given the relationship between Digital Banking and Fintech, and since we are in this period of the year when one is shelled by thousands of predictions [keep them for the year end], three ideas I read these days, that caught my attention:

• “Fintech startups will compete more directly with the financial services offered by banks. Fintech startups will consolidate as capital gets scarcer and investors have more outlets for returns with rising interest rates; and startups have started to cooperate rather than compete with FIs”. I tend to agree, and actually we have already witnessed the cooperation movement.

• “You can’t write software for millennials, without having millennials on your team”. Mmmm, well I believe today it is quite likely to have millennials in your team – check the graph below. But, if we are meaning that only millennials can deliver digital products, I am afraid I have to disagree.

• "Momentum Capital (short term hype chasing) into Fintech will slow down but innovation Capital (funding long term value creation) will increase because the reality of the opportunity is not impacted by the hype cycle." Again, I completely agree with second statement.

And I want to finish with a recurrent topic when Davos takes place. Think where you are. Maybe you have good reasons to be happy. And grateful.

Have a very nice weekend.