Collaboration between financial institutions and fintech startups remains a top priority. Rather than opposing innovation, it is much better to guide these entrepreneurs and enthusiasts from day one. In fact, a new survey conducted by IDC goes to show a lot of global banks are looking to partner with disruptive companies in the coming years.
Fintech and Bitcoin Companies Are A Hot Commodity
The survey conducted by IDC shows a lot of global banks are keeping a close eye on the Fintech sector. A lot of startups present challenges to established financial players. This has caused most banks to create accelerators and innovation labs, where they can look for talent that will improve their own services.
What is rather surprising is how six in ten global banks are more than willing to partner with companies looking at disrupting the financial sector. About a year or two ago, that number would have been less than half. Financial institutions opposed the idea of Fintech for quite some time, yet fail to keep up with consumer demands. Partnering with this disruptive companies works well for both parties.
SAP’s Global Head of Financial Services Rob Hetherington stated:
“Banks are in the midst of digital transformation, looking for ways to speed their time to market and to deliver new value or services to customers. Start-ups on the other hand are mobile, agile and built solely for the customer, yet they lack the regulatory know-how and customer confidence that large, global banks have. Both have something the other wants, and I anticipate that we’ll witness far greater collaboration, integration and – in some instances – acquisitions happening in the next year.”
While it is good to see this open-minded culture in the global banking industry, there are some drawbacks. Financial experts are concerned a lot of banks will rush into these partnerships without a long-term strategy. Innovation comes in many different ways, but partnering with a startup has to make sense as well.
All of this is somewhat positive news for Bitcoin startups as well. Although it remains doubtful banks will ever embrace cryptocurrency, Bitcoin startups bring some exciting solutions to the table as well. While financial players focus on blockchain technology, it will not work without a proper way to transfer value across the world in seconds.
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