‘Banks Will Lose Businesses to FinTech without Collaboration’

Given the speed of technology evolution across all facets of the economy, fififinancial experts have warned that banks will lose large chunk of their businesses to fifinancial technology operators otherwise known as FinTechs, if the banks delay any further to collaborate with them (FinTechs).

FinTechs are technology solution providers, whose solutions are currently disrupting the old and traditional ways of fififinancial transactions.

The fififinancial experts therefore advised Nigerian banks never to feel threatened by the emergence of FinTech operators in the fifinancial space, but to rather see them as technical partners in business and make haste to collaborate with them.

The fififinancial experts were of the view that banks could lose greater percentage of their customers to FinTech, should they play down on collaboration. They explained that customers’ tastes and lifestyles are fast changing with technology evolution in such a manner that customers are seeking better technology solutions that will enable them carry out fififinancial transactions from their mobile devices without going to the banking hall and without even opening a bank account. They said such solutions were currently being offered by FinTech, and the way forward is collaboration that will drive effifciency and sustainability.

The fififinancial experts drawn from within and outside the country were assembled together in Lagos for a two-day Disruptive Innovation conference, at the instance of Interswitch, a major player in the FinTech space.

The experts who spoke at the conference, insisted that the current trend of opportunities for banks was not about building physical bank branches, but by creating banking apps that would bring about ease and comfort to fififinancial transactions adding, the best way to achieve it is by aligning with FinTech to develop new technology apps.

In his keynote address at the Interswitch Disruptive Africa conference, one of the speakers, Brett King, popularly known as ‘King of Disruption’, an Australian entrepreneur and author who co-founded a New York mobile banking company called Moven and published several books, focused more on artificial intelligence (AI) in technology evolution, and explained that given the rate of technology growth, Africa and the entire globe would soon be ruled by AI technology applications. He advised all sectors, especially the banking sector, to be prepared to embrace the disruptive innovation that would come with artififificial intelligence.

King said banking transactions have moved from Bank 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, to 4.0, and advised banks to adapt to the changes through collaboration with FinTech, or lose their bank customers to FinTech players that are already creating apps that enhance banking transactions.

Founder, CWG Plc, Austin Okere, an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Columbia Business School.