Financial services firms lack fintech strategies
FEWER than half of financial services firms have a defined fintech strategy in place, research claims.
A KPMG report titled ‘forging the future’ found 57 per cent of financial institutions across the world say fintech is the greatest source of disruption yet only 46 per cent have a plan for it in place.
The poll of 168 financial institutions from 36 countries found 42 per cent have a strategy under development and 10 per cent have no fintech strategy at all.
The majority, 72 per cent, believed fintech start-ups would be the most important source of innovation over the next three years while 53 per cent felt it would be currency technology giants.
Just 36 per cent had faith in those from within their own company to provide innovation.
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“We’re seeing many financial institutions continue to struggle to build and execute a comprehensive strategy around fintech,” said Murray Raisbeck, global co-leader of fintech at KPMG International.
“In many cases, fintech innovation is left to individual functional areas, without any kind of overarching strategy across the organisation.”
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The report warns there are no clear winners yet when it comes to fintech innovation.
“Incumbents have a great opportunity to drive value from fintech given their customer relationships, capital resources and established reputations,” the report said.
“At the rate the industry is evolving, financial products and services – and the technological infrastructure behind them – will look remarkably different in a decade. Financial institutions that take the time to define their fintech strategy and align it to their future vision and business goals, will be best positioned to forge the future of financial services.”
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