Banking Gamechangers In 2018

Through 2017, we have seen technological advancements, new regulatory policies, and ever demanding customers reshape the banking industry’s landscape.

- S. Sundararajan

For some time now, incumbents of the financial sector have been under pressure to address the demands of the well-informed millennial customer while staying relevant and profitable at the same time. Gone are the days when banks viewed FinTech companies as disruptors; today, they are partners that are pairing up to take on the challenges of a digital first world.

The Indian FinTech scene comes with an added extra; new initiatives by the government to boost financial inclusion and promote a cashless society have opened up windows of opportunities for FinTech companies where first mover advantages are tremendous. As a result of the government’s initiatives, there has been a sharp increase in consumer adoption of FinTech. EY, one of the big four consulting firms, in their FinTech Adoption Index for 2017 states that 52% of India’s digitally active consumers are adopting FinTech; a figure that is only second to China’s 69% which is the global highest.

In these times of uncertainty, only one thing is certain – change. Below are some of the FinTech trends that could become major game changers in 2018.

Next-Gen Chatbots - 2017 saw several major banks in India such as HDFC, ICICI, and YES Bank, amongst others, adopting chatbots for supporting customer interactions. Currently, these chatbots are said to possess the intelligence of a 2-3-year old. However, as machines do not suffer from physical or learning fatigue, the evolution of a chatbot could be best described as more exponential than linear. So, in 2018, we could expect more chatbots to be deployed with improved quality of interactions, speed of responses, and accuracy in decision making.