From a financial services perspective, the challenges that bankers are concerned about are the triumvirate of new competition, product innovation investments to prioritize and changing customer behavior.
How do they become an Amazon of financial services, providing a great user experience whilst having secure, reliable transactions. The digital transformation of the financial service industry has a major impact on our society as a whole. Consumers are the driving force behind this change. In particular, there are two segments that are accelerating this change.
The Millennials
- This generation has less loyalty and is simply looking for the best banking experience that is frictionless and convenient
- Millennials are changing the world through interaction – the use of social, mobile and peer2peer technology is accelerating that change
The Unbanked
- According to the alliance for financial inclusion (AFI) an estimated 2.5 billion people do not have access to formal financial services, representing a huge untapped potential for economic and social development.
- There are 7 Billion people that use Mobile Phones but only 4 Billion that use a toothbrush. Mobile is a must if we want to onboard the unbanked population.
- Socio-economic development: It touches the lives of all societies. Especially of course those that are citizens and small businesses functioning without a secure infra-structure to run their business and livelihoods. Accepting deposits, providing life insurance cover, providing retail services like bill collection, sale of forms, saving their money etc.
Mobile is key to reach the masses
The impact of channel migration is changing the foundation of financial services as we know it. This seismic shift in consumer behavior is prompting banks around the world to innovate their mobile offerings. Exciting innovations are occurring at every mobile banking customer touch-point at banks across the world. From initial registration and transacting to channel integration and social media engagement, banks are leaping forward with new ideas that will simplify mobile banking while providing additional functionality. Mobile has become the primary way customers expect to do business at the touch of a finger, trusting the app to be secure. It is essential to protect customer personal data because these methods of engagement directly drive revenue and impact brand value.
Global cooperation
We decided to start an ecosystem of like-minded spirits who want to make a difference named Fin2Mobile. The purpose of the Fin2Mobile initiative is to bring together customers, partners and thought leaders. Fin2Mobile involves industry players, NGOs, government and startups to reach an ambitious goal: how to give 1 billion citizens access to secure mobile banking service within 5 years.
One of the founding partners of Fin2Mobile is Infosys Finacle, a global player in financial services with a dominant position in private and public sector banks. According to industry analysts, Finacle is the industry leader serving 16.5% of the bankable population (1.2 billion consumers) through over 200+ banks. Infosys is powering the largest core banking transformation in the world at the Indian Department of Post. The "Digital India" project is driven from Central Government for unbanked and under-banked, and Infosys has on-boarded 364 mn Indian Citizens. Mobile is the preferred method of banking for the new banked citizen. A bank is no longer somewhere to go – you carry it with you. This offers a new level of convenience, but at the same time consumers demand secure solutions.
In the presence of the Dutch Royal family, Infosys Finacle and Onegini signed the Fin2Mobile partnership. Her majesty, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, is UN Secretary General Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA) and honorary patron of the G20Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) since 2011.
The ecosystem consists of market leaders in banking, innovators and startups. Onegini is such a startup, based in the Hague, with a background in mobile security in the FinTech industry. The Onegini Mobile Security Platformprovides the missing link in the Infosys Finacle product stack, offering existing and future customers a secure platform for their customers' mobile consumer apps.