The payments landscape remains
one of those most threatened
with disruption. We have moved
beyond FinTechs creating strong
waves of disintermediation to
whole new payment models
such
as
distributed
ledger
technologies that are constantly
interrogating established payments
and
remittance
frameworks.
Crowdfunding and peer-to-peer
lending platforms are questioning
traditional lending practices and
risk approaches. FinTechs like
Transferwise are creating alternative
remittance options for customers,
with significant impact on traditional
banks’
market
share,
while
distributed ledger technologies are
constantly evolving and offering
speed and lower cost as they
edge over traditional cross-border
trade remittances and treasury
management.
In the technology
space, a sound
understanding of the
technology stack that
powers your products
is a key requirement.
July July
2017
2017
An understanding of the
technology behind your product
with respect to user experience,
user interface and security will
come in handy, especially if you
are in the product management
space of Retail Banking. It is also
important that today’s Retail
Banker understands CRM, the
data sets or environments and
the choices to be made for
optimal results from a technology
point of view. APIs and how they
define the underlying structure of
collaboration, and new payment
forms such as NFC and QR code-
based payments are a must know.
The influence of regulation with
respect to interchange, APRs,
and the sweeping implications of
legislation such as PSD2 in SEPA,
Basel 3 and the leverage caps and
capital requirements it places on
credit card portfolios all have a
profound effect on profitability,
and are pressuring banks and
card schemes to revise their
revenue models and offerings. The
requirement for significant changes
in existing infrastructure as some
payment areas migrate to new
technologies like EMV, and pressure
from regulators through aggressive
modifications in liability shifts for
noncompliance, keep stakeholders
on their toes constantly.
Mobile as a channel is becoming
very important due to capabilities
enabled on today’s devices. The
more than cursory interest of the
big four technology companies
and other hardware providers in
payments will significantly affect
future
customer
engagement
models. The new customer’s
digital journey is heavily driven
by social interactions on the web
through social media channels,
and the interactions between these
activities and customer’s purchase
journey is closing very quickly.
In concluding therefore, it is my
conviction that the Retail Banking,
cards
and
payments
space
is evolving quickly, and that
practitioners of these professions
must be ahead in terms of their
skill sets and a deep understanding
of the technology that drives their
business. This balance will be of
immense value in understanding
the customer’s purchase journey
and the factors that will increase
stickiness or switching cost.
The certifications have been of
incalculable benefit to me, and I
recommend having both as the
way to go for all Retail Banking
professionals.