The art of successful bank–FinTech partnerships: Making preparedness a cornerstone of a new era in financial services
Abstract
The evolving financial services landscape is increasingly characterised by robust collaborations between financial institutions (FIs) and third party providers (TPPs), a trend driven by widespread industry recognition of their strategic value. While FinTechs have historically accelerated agility and innovation, the dynamic has evolved from adversarial competition to mutual collaboration, reflecting a shared understanding of reciprocal value between FinTechs and FIs. This strategic approach allows both parties to leverage the established scale, regulatory frameworks and trusted brands of incumbent FIs. Despite the benefits, a considerable number of business relationships often struggle to operationalise effectively. This is largely attributable to factors such as ineffective strategies, scalability challenges and organisational misalignment, thereby highlighting the crucial need for comprehensive preparation. This paper outlines the essential elements for successful, mutually beneficial partnerships, emphasising preparedness across all stages: planning, due diligence, contract negotiation and ongoing monitoring. It provides purported best practices and business intelligence on what effective preparedness and strategic planning should entail for both FIs and TPPs at each phase of the partnership lifecycle. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
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Author's Biography
Kunal Bist runs Strategic Partnerships globally across Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) at Citi. Since joining Citi India in 2001, he has built a career spanning more than two-decades in Transaction Banking across the Middle East, India and North America. Most recently, he served as the global head of cross-border receivables, E-wallets Product management and Payments Partnerships within Citi’s Payments global leadership team. Having managed various products, operations, sales and sizeable internal partnerships, Kunal moved into his new role managing Citi’s Strategic partnerships across the entire TTS business globally.
Alexandra Genovese is part of the Strategic Partnerships team within Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS). In her role, she helps lead Strategic Partner Development, originating and executing partnerships across TTS product lines. From early ideation and exploration to contracting, Alex collaborates with the business owners to identify innovative FinTechs or third parties that complement Citi’s products and solutions, co-creating offerings that drive value for clients. Originally from California, Alex earned her BS in finance from Georgetown University.
