While banks know they must develop and launch new tools that are useful, convenient and intuitive, figuring out which tools meet that objective and employing them often seems out of reach.
Banks are being pushed into the background of popular digital experiences. But they can reappear on interfaces that customers use daily by doubling down on financial wellness efforts.
New entrants don’t pose a disruptive threat to the incumbent cohort of issuers, credit card networks and acquirers primarily because the incumbents — Visa, Mastercard and First Data — are prepared to compete in all segments of the market.
Revenue growth in its merchant payments business is expected to be tepid in the foreseeable future. The Minneapolis company says it is looking to ramp up innovation to stay competitive in a business that has been upended by fintech firms and online shopping.
Announcing that a formerly free product or service will now cost money exposes banks to reputational risk. But the process doesn’t have to end in customers getting angry.
Before banks replace their core systems — which are largely homogeneous in the U.S. — they should work on ways to deliver convenient and engaging digital services for each of their channels.
