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Open banking: The beginning of a new era

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Due to digital disruption, an important dichotomy erupts: banks have more interaction with customers than ever, but
customers have many more choices to fulfill their financial needs. As customers prefer choices and experience over being
locked into single suppliers, banks need to transform into open banks, striving to give customers “choice”. This will turn
financial services into a supply-side market.
The now and the forthcoming of banking 3. Fintechs continue to innovate in all areas of banking:
There are more than 100 million new fintech initiatives
The evolution of banks
per year in different business lines (e.g., payments,
Banks of yesterday Banks of today Banks of tomorrow
crowdfunding, “sharing economy”), some of them in
 Security and trust as  Introduction of  “Choice” as customers’
collaboration with third parties. It is important to highlight
customers’ main alternative payment main decision driver
decision drivers solutions that these fintechs’ initiatives threaten all banking business
 Open banking
 Based on credit and  Tailor-made product
 Banking-as-a-service
lines, which will not be limited to customer relationships,
debit services development
 ATMs and bank  Online-banking
 New fintech players but also affect operations, products and services, customer
branches as the only interactions
available channels experience, etc.
Source: Arthur D. Little 4. Regulatory pressure to open banking to third parties
Overall, the financial services industry has presented several continues: New digital regulations will boost open-banking
changes since the last century, in which banks’ transactional initiatives (e.g., Europe’s PSD2 and GDPR) for the following
model has experienced the maturity and decline of their reasons: (i) standardize access to data and banking
previous achievements. (ATMs and bank branches are infrastructures; (ii) improve security in information flow; (iii)
representing less significant client interaction channels year promote the use of APIs and reusability in order to reduce
by year). The introduction of mobile banking through client integration cost and time to market. Entry barriers will drop,
interaction by SMS set a tipping point in the banking industry in allowing fintech solutions to be part of banking offerings and
1999. threatening banks’ control over their customers.
5. New technologies continue to emerge: There are several
Managing strategic decisions in a fast-paced technological
ways of introducing digitalization initiatives into banking:
environment has forced banking to evolve into a new era – the
OAuth APIs, blockchain, telematics, robotics, AI, big data
era of digital banking, in which competitors will not be traditional
analytics and cloud computing, just to mention the big
financial institutions and where clients’ loyalty will be ephemeral
trends.
and expensive. It will be an environment whose pillars stand
in “choice” and technology. It will reshape the structure of the However, banks are not alone in this journey any more. Due
financial services industry for years to come with trends that are to the fast evolution of technology, customers have new
here to stay: alternatives and solutions to replace the current banking model.
1. Customers demand digital native solutions: Upcoming One of the business lines most affected by technology is 1

generations (e.g., millennials) believe they won’t need banks payment solutions, in which players such as Confinity (nowadays
in the future, with the availability of alternatives such as PayPal) have found their way up, establishing themselves
digital start-up providers. as leaders in the payment industry with market caps in line
with American Express. Nevertheless, all business lines are
2. Financial services incumbents continue to push process
affected by new financial technology solutions, even internal
digitalization: According to recent Arthur D. Little studies,
operations (credit scoring, compliance services, loan allocations,
25 percent of banks have entirely digital offerings. In parallel
etc.). Digital technologies are transforming the competitive
to regulatory compliance, digitalization is the key element of
environment of banks, wherein value is created based on
focus by banks attracting strong investments and attention.
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customer choices and experience rather than being locked into a Recent digital banks launched by traditional banks
single supplier. Traditional
Where?
Digital-only
Launch
parent bank bank
BBVA United States Simple Acquired Feb 2014
Additionally, there are important competitors pursuing bundling Jan 2015, sold in 2017 to
Customers Bancorp United States BankMobile
of different financial services. In China, both Tencent and Clearwater
JP Morgan United States Finn November 2017
Alibaba have raised the concept of social financing to a new Goldman Sachs United States
Marcus – focusing
October 2016
on loans & CC debt
level by integrating their social networks with a vast array of HSBC United Kingdom “Project Iceberg” Pending
Acquisition in
financial services. Meanwhile, the western world is starting BBVA United Kingdom Atom
November 2015
CaixaBank Spain imaginBank Launch January 2016
to see GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft)
Banco Santander Spain Openbank Relaunched in June 2017
building ecosystems around financial services. Furthermore, Bancolombia Colombia Nequi Launched in July 2016
banks in Europe face financial marketplaces dominated by digital Mediobanca Italy CheBanca!
Launched in June 2017,
relies on omnichannel
banks (i.e., Number 26, Tandem, Starling and Fidorbank) and Banque Travelex France Ditto Launched in May 2017

Notes: HSBC already operates an online bank in the UK – First Direct, formed in 1989 –
the eruption of telecom financial services pioneered by Orange and recently launched Fusion in the US for personal banking and SME customer
Bank. In particular, new digital banks are winning the customer Source: Arthur D. Little

perception race against traditional banks, as shown by the However, similar to insurers’ handling of the direct insurance
recent J.D. Power 2017 US Direct Banking Satisfaction Study1. challenge, banks cannot rely on a purely digital model. They
Digital banks scored higher than traditional retail banks – 865 need to seek a hybrid model, which will allow them to bring
out of 1,000 points, 49 points higher than conventional banks, their customer relationships and digitalization together. Through
although they currently represent just 6 percent of total bank open banking, banks will bridge these challenges and gain the
deposits in the United States. advantage of becoming customer-centric, multi-sided financial
Due to these emerging technologies, there has been an platforms.
unbundling of financial services, i.e., many suppliers for multiple
The opportunity relies upon both the strategic area
needs. At Arthur D. Little, we observe that banks are fighting
selected and the degree of complexity
to maintain their status as one-stop shops with an increased
bundling trend. For example, half of Americans have more Now that we have already gathered several reasons to adopt an
than one banking account2, and over 50 percent of mortgages open-banking approach, it is necessary to understand strategic
originate with non-bank lending3. The race has started, and development areas where the concept of open banking applies.
banks need to run, as the competition is much tougher than (The most suitable approach should be based on the current
before. country, legal barriers, and the bank’s competitive position and
interest). The development areas to aim for, ordered by their
Evolve to thrive degrees of integration complexity, are:
Holding onto traditional banking models will be the biggest Areas for development in open banking
challenge for banks in the long run. They have to move their 1
Develop internal open banking
Degree of complexity/integration

legacy processes, organizations, IT and cultures to the new

digital space, which implies agile and lean capabilities. Many 2
Provide or generate
banks, realizing the difficulty of the transformation, have information via data lake
3
launched digital banks to assure that they do not lose out on the Improve customer
External APIs

experience and service

opportunity while they transform their organizations. 4
Provide new and third-
providers

Others have joined forces to launch networks for payments – party financial services to customers
Service

5
JPMorgan, Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), Wells Fargo & Co
Provide bank services to third parties
(WFC.N), U.S. Bancorp (USB.N) and Capital One Financial Corp
(COF.N) will be the first to plug into Zelle. The network is the Source: Arthur D. Little

product of an industry consortium called Early Warning Services

1. Develop internal open banking: Internally, banks
LLC, whose seven owners have more than 86 million US mobile
have the opportunity to facilitate communications with
banking customers.
standardized and homogeneous services (promoting
An overview of various digital banks initiatives is shown in the omnichannel management). An appropriate application
following table. programming interface (API) strategy with the corresponding
implementation allows streamlining the innovation efforts
of banks, with clear advantages such as stability, flexible
1 http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/jd-power-2017-us-direct-banking-
satisfaction-study and manageable business processes, and shorter times.
2 https://www.gobankingrates.com/banking/banks/how-many-bank-accounts- There are also self-service features with integration of new
americans-have/
3 https://www.americanbanker.com/opinion/is-one-stop-banking-viable-anymore devices.

2 Open banking: The beginning of a new era

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2. Provide/generate information via a data lake: As it is With the increasing trend of new technologies such as the
commonly known, providing information to customers Internet of Things (IoT) and digital and mobilization platforms,
about their industry trends, clients’ behaviors, geolocation new business opportunities will appear (both B2B and B2C).
preferences, and new business-line opportunities will be of BBVA offers several best-in-class services to its customers.
great interest to most players, irrespective of the industries Its recently incorporated personal finance management
they belong to. An alternative that banks should consider is (PFM) tool helps customers follow, classify, remain informed
to implement data lakes that deliver additional external and on and manage their personal finances by aggregating all
internal services and information. A sustainable business of the customers bank-account, credit and card information
model could be created using an open platform with the into one place. Other examples include the BBVA Valora
ability to capture and combine information from multiple service, which estimates the value of housing, and the
sources. This would involve players throughout the market, BBVA Bconomy tool, which allows customers to monitor
and establish a market analytic center based on customers’ their financial health and provides made-to-measure plans
characteristics. to improve it. BBVA Bconomy also offers customers
Data lakes will transform banks into information suppliers, personalized recommendations and tools according to their
and they will be able to offer their customers precise and situations.
concise business intelligence as key tools of management Banks should bet on fintech developments instead of
(from development of marketing campaigns to creation of competing against them. Most of the largest US banks
new products). BBVA PayStats is a best-in-class example have already begun to integrate or acquire their portfolios of
showing development of data services, which has created products (for example, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan
a new payment information service to benefit small and Stanley and J.P. Morgan are now using Square as a Fintech
medium enterprises (SMEs). payment solution).
In the context of a broader consortium set-up, banks 5. Provide bank services to third parties: Another feasible
might also reflect on complementing the data lake with alternative relies on offering banking services (banking-
decentralized ledger technologies such as blockchain, with as-a-service) to third parties. Not long ago, LISIM (a cloud
the goal of making effective use of shared data (e.g., for software solution) started to operate as a credit-scoring tool
know-your-customer or similar regulations). for non-bank players. It offered its clients real-time scoring
3. Improve customer experience and service: Personal (scoring-process consulting through various traditional
finance platforms provide valuable information when and non-traditional sources), with the option of customer
making commercial offers. Customers consider banks parametrization risk policies according to target customer
reliable sources of recommendations. Spanish start-up and risk tolerance. There is a clear opportunity to expand the
Fintonic is a clear example of taking customer services and portfolio and customers’ profiles from a banking perspective.
experience to the next level. Fintonic’s current business Areas such as procurement, compliance, risk, IT and
lines are online loans from mobile phones (loans in three research could offer significant value to companies outside
minutes). It also offers commission for proactive notices of the banking industry.
the best insurance prices and selling of clients’ information
for account usability and client segmentation. In addition, At Arthur D. Little, we recognize several threats (technical,
the platform can consolidate all of a customer’s bank and external and internal) that need to be overcome in order for
card information into one place, creating a joint-vision banks to achieve successful implementation of open-banking
understanding based on customer preferences and interest. strategies.
4. Provide new and third party services to customers: Threat implementation of an open-banking strategy
Examples of new digital opportunities for banks Fear and risk aversion in the management
Internal
affairs

Cultural shock
B2B B2C
Corporate processes slow on third party providers offering integration
 Loyalty systems
 Integrated trading platforms
 Fintech Multi-sided platforms Lack of third party providers offering suitable to our needs
Third-party risk assessment
External


Platforms Personal finance management
affairs


 SME commercial platforms
 Financial health tools Fear to lose control over customer relationship and transactional margins
 Banking-as-a-service (BaaS)
Lack of clear regulation that controls and drives the adoption

Telematics Technical incapacity to accelerate transformation

Technical


IoT  Fleet management for leasing  Smart cities
 Urban mobility ecosystems (e.g., taxis) Problems with security and trust

Untrained staff for new work model

 P2P lending & payments
 Loan syndication platform  Wealth management robo-advisors Source: Arthur D. Little
Digital
 SME channels  Geolocalized offers
channels  P2P lending platforms  Integrated PFM
 Simplified banking for the underserved

Source: Arthur D. Little

Open banking: The beginning of a new era 3

 Viewpoint

However, considering these challenges, we suggest: Contacts

nn Developing a strong analysis of the value chain, as well as a Austria Middle East
suitable strategy to strengthen contribution of new ideas. hessenberger.gerald@adlittle.com dadhich.lokesh@adlittle.com

nn Uncovering successful industry-specific operating models. Belgium The Netherlands

pankert.gregory@adlittle.com eikelenboom.martijn@adlittle.com
nn Adopting a top-down promotion approach (e.g., starting with
China Norway
the CEO). russell.pell@adlittle.com thurmann-moe.lars@adlittle.com
nn Defining a new collaborative business model with pre-set Czech Republic Russia
rules (versus stakeholders) to mitigate internal business brabec.dean@adlittle.com ovanesov.alexander@adlittle.com
barriers. France Singapore
bettati.aurelia@adlittle.com ito.yuma@adlittle.com
Activities such as encouraging clients’ trust in the bank’s
products, taking on a mix of external staffing, training, and Germany Spain
pfirsching.volker@adlittle.com gonzalez.juan@adlittle.com
creating a team to support implementation of internal services
are among hundreds of different alternatives to overcome India Sweden
srinivasan.srini@adlittle.com kileffors.petter@adlittle.com
technical, inexperience, distrust, and inability challenges.
Italy Switzerland
In addition to the solutions mentioned before, banks should bet matera.fabio@adlittle.com opitz.michael@adlittle.com
on the development of interest groups or consortia that endorse
Japan Turkey
(from an opportunity perspective) making new regulations and akayama.shinichi@adlittle.com baban.coskun@adlittle.com
developments. If the bank is part of this movement, its odds of
Korea UK
a strong position in the future will increase. hwang.hoonjin@adlittle.com eagar.richard@adlittle.com
Latin America USA
Conclusion gonzalez.alejandro@adlittle.com mcdevitt.sean@adlittle.com
As we have emphasized throughout this viewpoint, banks
have the potential to leverage many opportunities in this new
environment. Despite all the challenges and threats new Authors
players might represent, there are several ways to achieve an Alejandro González, Bela Virag, Juan González, Gerald
open-banking strategy that is suitable to a bank’s competitive Hessenberger, Rocío Castedo, Mateo Jiménez
advantage and interest. Customers’ preferences, new regulation
resolutions, technological trends and players will establish the
Arthur D. Little
ground for a new era of banking.
Arthur D. Little has been at the forefront of innovation since
However, market attractiveness and banks’ current positions
1886. We are an acknowledged thought leader in linking
will start eroding if banks refrain from digging into open-banking
strategy, innovation and transformation in technology-intensive
solutions. The traditional banking model will present banks with
and converging industries. We navigate our clients through
losses of 20 to 30 percent of their current revenues, and that is
changing business ecosystems to uncover new growth
a strong enough reason to start now – before this opportunity
opportunities. We enable our clients to build innovation
matures into a deadly threat.
capabilities and transform their organizations.
Banks should start to bet on this open banking model as soon
as possible. It represents the perfect opportunity due to timing Our consultants have strong practical industry experience
and current market competitiveness, but it will not last forever. combined with excellent knowledge of key trends and
Customers prefer choices and experience to being locked into dynamics. ADL is present in the most important business
single suppliers, and newly established fintechs and digital centers around the world. We are proud to serve most of the
banks have just arrived. Fortune 1000 companies, in addition to other leading firms and
public sector organizations.
Beyond this viewpoint, we will explore API-powered business
models that are emerging in banking due to open-banking For further information please visit www.adlittle.com or
opportunities. We will also analyze the technology implications www.adl.com.
of this new model and the potential technical approaches.
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