Question

Discuss the future of Omni-channel banking in the face of numerous technological developments including "mobile" and "cloud", and "Blockchain " applications, and numerous disruptive start-up Fin Tech Firms. What banking model in your opinion will prevail in the forthcoming decade? What should institutions and regulators do to protect the security and privacy of individuals, which is posing the greatest risk to confidence? Who should bear the increased cost of cyber-security?

Answer 1

The future of Omni-channel banking looks bright and promising keeping in mind the numerous technological developments including "mobile" and "cloud", and "Blockchain " applications, and numerous disruptive start-up Fin Tech Firms. Going forward Omni-channel banking will shift focus from transaction processing to optimized customer experience. This is because banks have already achieved optimum level of efficiency with regards to transaction processing and hence will, in future, concentrate more and more on providing its customers an optimized level of services and experiences. In other words in future the interactions between customers and their financial institutions will become seamless as well as consistent.

In the forthcoming decade the digital banking model will prevail as customers will have less and less need of physical money and will conduct majority of their transactions digitally using credit cards, debit cards, online transfers and payments, payments through e-wallets and payment through banking apps. Mobile banking will emerge as the largest and most used model as the concept of real-time money movement becomes a reality.

To protect the security and privacy of individuals institutions should invest more on their information technology infrastructure to make it foolproof and robust. In such a way it will not be at all susceptible to any possibilities of data theft or hacking. Regulators should make the regulatory environment and laws and regulations more stringent in this aspect.

The increased cost of cyber-security should be shared between banks, financial institutions and customers. This is because banks and financial institutions are increasing cyber security for the benefits of the customers. To ensure that the customers are not burdened with the costs the banks and financial institutions can charge customers nominal amounts either on a per transaction basis or as monthly or quarterly fees.