The Future of Financial Services

World Economic Forum “The Future of Financial Services” report. How disruptive innovations are reshaping the way financial services are structured, provisioned and consumed

Rapidly advancing technologies, evolving customer expectations and a changing regulatory landscape are opening doors to disruptive innovation in financial services. From crypto-currencies to big data to peer-to-peer lending, fintech innovations have captured the attention and imagination of customers, investors and incumbents. However, the nature and extent of the impact that these innovations will have on the financial services industry remains unclear. This document captures the results of a series of multistakeholder dialogues that explored the potential for these innovations to transform the financial ecosystem as well as the risks and opportunities that could emerge from changes in the way financial services are structured, delivered and consumed in the future in the future. Save as pdf

REUTERS: The world’s top banks and insurers are seeing their business models challenged by “fintech” start-ups, which are reshaping what consumers and businesses expect from financial services, industry insiders and experts say.

A report out Tuesday from the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Swiss-based corporate think-tank which runs the Davos summit of world leaders, says major disruptions lie ahead for the once highly profitable financial services industry.

Foreshadowing the end of the friendly local bank manager, UK regulators last week granted a banking license to Atom, a “branch-free, paper-free” institution which its customers must on their own mobile phones or tablets.

The WEF study joins a flood of recent reports including one from Santander InnoVentures, the venture arm of Banco Santander, which argues digital technologies are eroding the bulwarks of the financial services industry, just as it did in travel and entertainment a decade or more ago. Read the full article

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