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Financial Institutions (FIs) have long had a curiosity regarding fintech.

There were concerns that these digital disruptors would create more competition for traditional financial services providers (without as much regulatory oversight), but banks and startups are starting to embrace opportunities to collaborate.

Conversations about partnerships between FIs and fintech intensified in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, as scores of consumers and businesses became digital converts and there was a greater need to make day-to-day tasks easier (and safer) for those customers.

In 2020, SRM conducted three surveys to shed light on the financial services industry’s approach to navigating the pandemic. Our March and June surveys focused on bank and credit union executives’ responses to COVID-19 and their strategies for delivering uninterrupted service to customers.

Six months into the pandemic, we further rounded out the picture by commissioning leading research firm Harris Insights and Analytics to collect data directly from US consumers. This survey assessed how their banking habits had evolved since global lockdowns began, and how they might continue to change in the future. The results were further analyzed by SRM’s Europe-based Data Analytics team, which specializes in consumer behavior and loyalty insights.

The findings revealed some important differences by segment with key insights for go-forward digital banking strategies.  

Traditional financial institutions are facing a new wave of crypto-enabled payments disruptions, and many don’t see it coming. Even so, lending as we know it is about to change.

In a recent post, I stressed the importance of banks and credit unions preparing for rapidly emerging financial technologies like CBDCs (central bank digital currencies) and DeFi. This post will take a closer look at what DeFi means for banking as we know it, and encompasses borrowing, lending, investing, payments, and digital wallets.

It’s not surprising commerce continues to migrate to digital channels across all sectors and that the pandemic has pushed further the already speedy digital banking trend. In the FI world, consumers rely on their bank or credit union’s virtual branch to navigate real-life decisions.

A recent family trip to Florida’s gulf coast reminded me of how much importance customers put into “What it says on the website.” We visited an area decimated by Hurricane Michael the year prior; although it remains a beautiful destination, the storm’s impact was still evident. Some businesses only had websites left standing, as we soon came to learn.