Banking Technologies

• A study by Cornerstone Advisors published in January 2020 surveyed several financial institutions to know what new technologies they were incorporating. The most selected technologies include digital account opening, P2P payments, and video collaboration/marketing.
• Digital Account Opening: This technology started gaining traction in the banking industry in 2017. Since then, there has been a heavy focus on digital account opening. At least 33% of banks and credit unions plan to add new or replacement digital accounting opening systems before the end of 2020.
• P2P Payments: About 30% of banks and credit unions intend on adding a new or replacement person-to-person (P2P) tool before the end of 2020. This technology started growing in popularity among banks when Zelle was established in 2017. Zelle is the official P2P payment provider for more than 20 of the 25 largest US banks. More banks and credit unions in the US plan to use Zelle because it is the most convenient P2P tool.
• Video Collaboration/Marketing: This technology only started gaining traction within the financial services industry in 2019. Over 25% of banks and credit union plan to add video collaboration/marketing tools before the end of 2020. The rise of this technology is not surprising as it offers several benefits. In a different study, over 70% of bank executives stated that the technology has "1) accelerated decision-making; 2) improved productivity; 3) boosted product innovation; and 4) improved the customer experience."

Retail Banking Trends

• The Financial Brand surveyed several financial services executives in global organizations for their "thoughts on retail banking and credit union trends and strategic priorities."
• Removing friction from the customer journey (58%) was selected as the most important retail banking trend in 2020.
• About 43% of these leaders believe the use of big data, artificial intelligence, cognitive computing, and advanced analytics will be the most important trend.
• Exactly 33% cited the use of APIs and open banking, while 32% mentioned improvements in integrated multichannel delivery.
• Up to 28% mentioned investment in innovation initiatives, with 26% citing partnerships between banking & fintech, and 26% mentioning the expansion of digital payments.

Other Innovations

• Based on several articles and studies examined, the major trends in the financial services industries include the accelerated focus on digital transformation, the emergence of fintech companies, and unconventional money revolutions like blockchain.
• Other innovations in banking products include artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data, open banking, and voice banking.