INDUSTRY WATCH
Charles Habak, Principal at Booz Allen Hamilton MENA.
• Digital banking brings in a much lower cost play
• Allows you to interact with customers in ways never been done before
• Customers who were less appealing to a bank in the past are now suddenly interesting
• There is no choice but to partner with Fintech companies
• Key is to balance partnership by leveraging strengths
• It is not who is providing what, it is knowing the bank at the end will meet their needs
• Whether it means doing it directly or partnering with other firms becomes almost irrelevant to
the customer
• The bank becomes the single trusted entity
• The bank continues to own and maintain the relationship
• Where there is success is where technology is added as additional layer on infrastructure
• Once business defines exactly what they want to capture, technology follows
• What is really coming is new framework of regulations that truly enables digital banking
How does the digital banking
journey unfold?
It is the business managers rather
than IT managers who first need to
decide on the new business models
for digital banking before deploying
technology to help, indicates Habak.
“We have often witnessed success
when technology is deployed as an
additional layer on the infrastructure
that is already existent. Once a
business defines exactly what
segments they want to capture and
what services they want to offer,
technology follows.”
Since partnerships are such an
important part of digital banking, IT
70
INTELLIGENTCIO
managers inside banks need to assess
the technology models for partnerships
as well. However, the most important
role of technology remains providing
agility and flexibility for the business,
while aggregating, simplifying and
streamlining the customer experience.
On the regulatory side, central banks
and other authorities remain challenged.
Services that were once provided by
banks are being provided by players
outside the realm of banking regulations.
While regulators understand the age
of digital banking is here and have the
right intentions of enabling the market,
they have to protect the consumer and
protect the financial systems.
“What is really coming to the table
is the ability to provide a new
framework of regulations that truly
enables digital banking and digital
payments,” says Habak. One of
the challenges for digital banking
regulations, is how do you make
sure the person who is registering is
the person you believe they are, in
the absence of physical presence.
Another requirement is to regulate
the partnerships between Fintech
companies and banks.
The stage has been set where digital
banking is no longer going to be just
nice to have, but a key requisite of
being able to compete.
www.intelligentcio.com