Bug Blog

What began with ATM machines has expanded to cover the Internet and mobile devices, becoming a global state change that has shrunk distance and time nearly to zero and opened up the financial world, connecting people and financial institutions in ways that were impossible only a few decades earlier.

The future will include even greater change as wealth management, loans and investment continue to be reimagined by the use of increasingly sophisticated technology. Established banks are now reaching out for innovation, moving away from the tradition of partnering only within the financial industry and are beginning to engage with IT companies to develop new products and systems. Meanwhile, startups are feeling their way through the maze of financial regulations and blockchain looks set to be the next major disruptor.

Fortunately, there are many different ways of handling digital transformation, and disruption is only one. There are good reasons for banks to operate online and expand their e-banking services. Commerce continues to move toward digital technology and failure to quickly embrace this technology could remove banks from their role as the primary financial service providers. By positioning themselves in the marketplace, they have the opportunity to both sell new and traditional products to a technologically acclimated generation that is accustomed to making purchases and gathering information online.

The use of digital technology has brought customers closer to the financial institution, cutting down on the number of customer-facing bank employees. Thus, e-banking requires more participation from customers. This has led customers to evaluate financial services based on the rather new criteria of usability. What was once a matter of how friendly the teller was, has now become how usable and reliable the software is. So, ultimately, it’s not just the services provided, but the quality and reliability of the software as well.