I found the below article in TechCrunch interesting, particularly it's claim that automation can offer the ultimate reduction in friction by allowing optimisations to happen perpetually.
Key points for me included:
- FinTechs are breaking up the old guard by focusing on what banks have done and simply doing them better. Consumers now have numerous financial relationships, each with a clear-cut purpose.
- The incumbents are focused on copying the best of what FinTechs offer. They’re moving slowly and are five years behind, but their goal is to provide a just-good-enough mobile experience to ensure customers stay with them.
- If a bank wants to be in a certain business, it can dominate a FinTech as it has lower cost of funds and can pay more per
... all of which begs the questions:
- How often do you interact with your bank via branches, ATMs, websites, or mobile apps?
- Who would you trust with your banking information? Big banks, tech companies (Google, Amazon etc.) or FinTechs?
- If I were to ask you or your parents these questions 20 years ago, how different would the responses be?
Automation allows optimizations to happen at zero marginal cost. Automation allows optimizations to happen without human involvement, and when you’re able to do that, the customer is always matched with the ideal financial situation.
https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/03/automation-will-be-the-end-of-banks-as-we-know-them/
