Bankloch

It is often stated that ' Data is the new oil ', suggesting that data, like oil, holds immense value but remains unusable if unrefined. While this comparison simplifies, it effectively highlights two significant trends: A fierce   competition to capture as much customer data   as possible, waged not only by Big Tech and social media giants but also by major e-commerce players and supermarkets through loyalty programs. Growing investments in deriving insights from this accumulated raw data . The advancements in AI play a critical role, yet they merely scratch the surface. Beneath, substantial investments are required in tools to gather, cleanse, structure, and store data. The complexity and associated costs can be substantial. The   financial sector, rich in valuable data , has historically underutilized this asset for several reasons: Strict regulatory oversight   ensures data usage within the financial sector is heavily controlled. The sector’s   reliance on 't...

  In Retail banking most account flows are relatively easy, as usually there is only 1 account holder and in the rare case there are multiple account holders each account holder has full access rights to the account. This contrary to business banking, where much more complex mandate rules are in place. Unfortunately this simplicity in Retail banking, leaves   quite some use cases for shared finance unsupported (or under supported) . Very often it is assumed in retail banking that the different account holders of the same account have a high degree of trust between each other (e.g. a couple), but this is not always the case. We can imagine multiple use cases where more complex models of authorization, mediation and follow-up are required between the different holders of an account. A good user-friendly (easy to use) system to properly manage those relations and all associated account flows could provide significant added-value for many retail customers. Let’s explore some use c...

In my blog " Buy Now Pay Later - A credit in disguise ? ( https://bankloch.blogspot.com/2021/07/buy-now-pay-later-credit-in-disguise.html ) I raised already some concerns about the Buy Now Pay Later movement. While at first sight it seems indeed a more transparent and more user-friendly solution than payments via a credit card, in reality it might be even more dangerous to push people into debt. In a counter-reaction a few Fintech start-ups (like Accrue Savings, Sympl, Monkee…​) have raised capital to initiate a countermovement called   "Save Now Buy Later" (SNBL) . This movement aims to provide the same   user-friendly embedded (payment) experience   as BNPL, but without pushing people into credit. Instead it stimulates people to save for something they have seen at a merchant and buy it once the required amount has been saved (so buy it in the future). Obviously this is not a replacement for BNPL, but rather a compliment to offer the best shopping experience for every ...

For companies a   financial balance sheet   (i.e. the statement of the financial position at a certain date) is common practice and for the majority of companies even mandatory to create one as part of their annual reporting. In such a balance the assets are put against the liabilities, with the sum of the assets always equal to the sum of the liabilities and equity. While this is such a common tool for companies, for individuals it’s almost funny to speak about a personal financial balance. Nonetheless such a balance can give you (just as for a company’s balance sheet) very interesting insights in your personal life and more specifically in your personal finances. For individuals instead of a real balance sheet, we usually work with a holistic wealth overview, which calculates your total wealth, by subtracting the liabilities from your assets. This means it doesn’t use the same categorizations and visualizations as in a corporate balance sheet, which is a pity a...

Almost every recent article written about banking starts with the statement that the   banking industry is being disrupted   by new competitors, new innovations and new technologies. Although this statement is definitely true, the extend of the disruption can still be debated. Even the most innovative neo-banks still work with bank (current, saving, term and investment) accounts, cards (credit and debit), traditional credits, existing payment infrastructure…​ The user experience surrounding the origination and servicing of these products has dramatically improved (and will continue to evolve), but the underlying banking products are not really disrupted. You could argue that banking products are so intertwined with society and our way of thinking about finance, that they can’t be disrupted, but looking at those products you cannot ignore that they are far from an optimal solution in our current digital world. Let’s consider   cards   for example. Isn’t ...