The global digital banking market has witnessed significant boost in recent years, thanks to the various technological advancements happening in the banking sector. Banking institutions are using technologies and devices like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) to not only improve the products and services offered by them but to enhance the overall customer experience as well.
The COVID-19 pandemic played a pivotal role in increasing the use of digital banking solutions among customers across the world as several governments had imposed movement restrictions and lockdowns. This forced many people to turn to online banking channels to conduct their daily transactions. The pandemic posed a challenge for the banks and financial institutions as well because they had to think of creative ways to use the digital medium.
Many smaller and lesser-known banks had to go digital to retain their existing customer base and increase their presence in different nations across the globe. Retail shopping saw a boost in its online sales as more customers preferred online shopping platforms. This gave smaller businesses an opportunity to widen their customer base and expand in different areas. People who were already in the field of digital business were flourishing during the pandemic.
The trends that will boost the development of global digital banking industry are given below:
Online investment banking activities will rise in Asia Pacific
Asia Pacific digital banking market will exceed valuation of nearly $8 billion by 2026. The digital investment banking segment is expected to grow at more than 10% CAGR through 2026. This is because the region is witnessing rapid internet penetration which has made more financial products and services easily available for a wide range of customers.
Investment banking has become much easier today as compared to a few years ago as people then would solely rely on the suggestions of their brokers and then take important investment decisions. However, that is not the case today as people are increasingly participating and learning the tricks of the stock exchange on their own, thanks to millions of online investment platforms available. E-trading has played an important role in saving time, money and energy of several investors as the stock markets can be accessed with the help of smartphones.
Mobile payments will benefit APAC digital banking market
Developing countries in APAC region are witnessing heavy adoption of NFC and POS terminals because of the rapid digitization happening in these nations. Banking services in these economies are taking the digital route to not just increase the customer base but to expand their business as well. High-end gadgets like tablets and smartphones are experiencing rapid rise in their demand among consumers in India, Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia, leading to the introduction of mobile wallets.
These wallets are a digitized version of physical wallets and perform functions like making payments and cash withdrawals. Mobile wallets provide security to the cash stored unlike physical ones. The increase in use of mobile wallets has compelled retail shops to get themselves integrated with online payment platforms to accept mobile payments. All these factors will create a positive impact on digital banking market size in Asia Pacific region.
Strategic alliances to innovate digital baking products
Several companies that are a part of digital banking market in Asia Pacific are getting into strategic alliances with other fintech firms. They aim to create innovative products and services to serve banking customers in a better manner. In January 2019, Western Union announced its partnership with Kakaobank of Korea Corporation to launch Western Union money transfer services in an app created by Kakaobank. This partnership was quite beneficial for the customers of Kakaobank as they were able to send and receive money with the help of this app, thereby enhancing their overall experience.
Digital corporate banking services will gain momentum in Europe
Digital banking market size in Europe is expected to surpass $2 billion by 2026. Corporate banking segment is estimated to grow at nearly 5% CAGR during the forecast period of 2020-2026. One of the major reasons for this is the increasing need among customers to reduce the high number of formalities and complexities involved in the banking sector. Conventional banks often have many portals and rivals, thereby making life difficult for corporate customers who want to maintain different accounts for their business.
This is where digital banking solutions are useful as they provide an online dashboard that has complete information in a consolidated format. This helps the corporate customers in viewing the history of their transactions and even provide financial projections of their cash position in the form of graphs.
Canada will see higher demand for digital banking services
Canada digital banking market is expected to show exponential progress during the forecast period of 2020-2026. The country has been quick to adopt some of the most advanced banking technologies to improve their financial infrastructure. There are a large number of customers today that are using digital banking platforms to complete their daily transactions.
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, in August 2020, announced its plan to use the CRM platform of Salesforce to improve the overall experience of customers. The bank aims to provide end-to-end digitization services and advanced analytics to encourage customers to use digital banking services.
Increasing use of retail baking in North America
Financial apps on mobile devices are experiencing an incredible surge in demand among consumers in North America. This is because they provide ease in doing transactions. People can now receive all kinds of information related to their financial transactions on their smartphones and tablets. This has prompted financial institutions to make changes in their functions and make them more suitable for online banking operations. It has resulted in improved experience for customers and has benefited the banks as well.
Some of the top financial institutions providing digital banking services across the world are Intellect Design Arena Ltd., The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, CREALOGIX AG, ebankIT, Fidor Solutions AG, TATA Consultancy Services Limited and many others.