The evolution of digital banking

Abstract

Since the 1980s the banking industry has been through a process of digitalisation across the retail, small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), corporate and wealth management lines of business. Over the past decade, the process of digital transformation has accelerated as banks have responded to new competition from digital-first challenger banks and disruptive start-ups that offer a personalised customer experience. This paper provides an overview of some of the important periods of digital transformation within the banking sector, focusing on changes to banking channels, business lines, technologies, personalisation capabilities and product lines. In addition to charting some of the progress made to date, this paper also looks ahead at what may come next in the story of digital banking, including the introduction onboarding of new digital channels such as wearables, the transformation of core banking and the move by banks into adjacent sectors that leverage digital technologies.