Historically, the role, status and attitude of banks have changed. In the past, people didn’t expect much from banks. It’s just a safe place to keep cash. In the 21st century, however, expectations are much higher. Therefore, traditional banks must transform to survive. So what’s wrong with traditional banking?
(1) Too much bureaucracy and lack of flexibility. Doing paperwork and visiting brick-and-mortar banks for simple financial transactions seems outdated. Instead, customers are looking for simple, straightforward and straightforward digital solutions to meet their needs.
(2) No longer meeting the expectations of a new generation of customers. For example, Gen Z is more digitally savvy than Millennials, no wonder there is a saying that “Gen Y is tech savvy, while Gen Z is tech native”.
(3) Price. The high maintenance costs of brick-and-mortar branches are reflected in the higher fees of traditional banks. Under these conditions, it becomes more difficult for them to compete.
What’s wrong with traditional banks, and why are plastic card systems dying?
The new reality of financial markets
As a result of the above, more than 4,000 bank branches in the United States have closed since March 2020. Additionally, it must be said that since the start of the pandemic, the branch closure rate has doubled, from 99 closures per month to 201 per month.
Additionally, according to research by PwC, 32% of Americans say they no longer do business in brick-and-mortar branches and are moving everything online. If this pace continues, bank branches are likely to close soon. Statistics prove it.
For example, if the same trend continues, all brick-and-mortar banks in the U.S. will be closed by 2034, according to research by Self Inc. In addition, more than half of Americans believe that the number of online banks will exceed the number of traditional banks in the future.
However, the problem is not just outdated banks, but outdated payment methods. POS terminals and plastic cards no longer offer the most straightforward and comfortable payment experience of the existing alternatives.
To have a fully functional POS terminal, it needs to be developed, certified, introduced individually in each country, cleaned and finally sold. On the other hand, using a plastic card system is also not environmentally friendly and not always comfortable.
But if a normal smartphone can replace the TPE and its maintenance, why pay for it? Also, why bother with a card when you can pay for goods or services over the phone?
Embedded Finance: Trends
The market is constantly adapting to market needs and people’s needs. Therefore, it is not surprising that simple and effective integrated finance has become an alternative to traditional conservative banks.
Integrated Finance can adapt the user experience of any industry (e.g. retail, accounting, technology, transportation, etc.) to make any business a banker.
The comprehensive financial potential is huge. According to statistics, by 2030, its global market value will reach 7.2 trillion US dollars. Furthermore, it is predicted that in the United States alone, more than $230 billion in revenue will be generated by 2025.
Benefits of an Integrated Financing Solution
Overall, the integration of in-vehicle payment solutions is very common because it can:
- increase the source of income;
- Digitize and automate quotes;
- Reduce transaction costs;
- raise popularity of brand;
- increase return on investment;
- promote operational excellence;
- Improve industry expertise;
- Get a better customer experience.
There are many different options for integrating financial services into a business. The most popular are fintech-as-a-service, trade and investment, comprehensive insurance services, buy now pay later (BNPL) services and point-of-service lending.
Who is the market leader?
Amazon
The largest e-commerce company offers a comprehensive range of financial services and products across its portfolio. These include merchant services, loan products, payments, insurance, prepaid cards, stored value/credit cards, and more. In other words, the company combines the services of fintech and traditional banking. Amazon’s fintech wallet is a success story in embedded finance.
Samsung
Samsung is one of the largest smartphone and home appliance makers. So he entered a fintech market with a variety of different solutions. These are Samsung Pay mobile wallet, Samsung Money digital bank account, Samsung Blockchain Wallet cryptocurrency, Samsung Digital ID and Samsung mPOS progressive payment acceptance methods.
Additionally, in 2020, the company partnered with Curve to promote its Samsung Pay debit card.
Multinational technology and advertising company specializing in Internet services.This created a very successful project Google Pay, an online payment system and digital wallet platform for in-person, online and in-app purchases on mobile devices, allowing users to pay using tablets, phones and watches.In addition, Google also Target and Safeway Help users browse weekly grocery deals in the Google Pay app.
Uber
Global mobility as a service provider. The company created the financial product Uber Money. It is primarily designed to provide financial services to platform drivers. It also offers drivers the option to pay instantly or have a digital wallet and credit card to ensure accurate and on-time payments.
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American electric vehicle and clean energy company. Tesla provides insurance to its customers when they buy a car. With the successful launch of its insurance payment system, the company announced an ambitious plan to become one of the largest insurers in the United States.
Other comprehensive financial companies
The list may grow to include more companies, including but not limited to Alipay, WeChat Pay, Apple Pay, Klarna, WhatsApp Pay, AfterPay, Affirm, Stripe, Finastra, Temenos, Treezor, Monzo, IKEA, Starbucks, Walmart, Massey Des-Benz, and many more.
All of these companies provide stiff competition for traditional banks, forcing the latter to transform their business models into more open and flexible ones.
Where is the future of integrated finance
Making accurate predictions for embedded finance is a difficult but still important task. For example, a spokesperson for neobank “N26” made the following comments on the future of embedded finance. “Personalisation will become more important and AI will make it possible to offer banking products that suit everyone’s needs at better prices,” he said.
Of course, integrated financial services will not happen overnight. Since the payments industry is conservative, the transformation process in the financial industry will be step-by-step and will take years. However, the direction of the transformation is clear.
Furthermore, new financial market players are not expected to completely replace banks. However, they will constitute significant competition, offering new avenues and opportunities for the financial industry.
Where to Get Comprehensive Financing Solutions
Implementing an integrated financial solution is a complex and multidimensional task. Therefore, solution providers must be chosen carefully. With extensive knowledge and years of experience in the field of integration, 42flows.tech is a highly reliable and advanced technology partner. Therefore, we provide:
– assist in selecting the best solution for our clients;
– description of key processes;
– Integration of all processes based on different financial service providers.
In other words, 42flows.tec is ready to provide effective and tailored solutions that give our clients a competitive advantage, modernize their digital infrastructure, bring business growth and new revenue streams.
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