The future of banking: Advice for modern leaders

GlobalData

Wed, May 14, 2025, 7:52 AM 4 min read

Technology is fundamentally changing how banks operate and serve customers. Customers now expect seamless digital interactions with their banks. They want instant access to their accounts, easy-to-use interfaces and fast customer service. The American Bankers Association recently reported that 55% of US bank customers are using apps or phones as their top options for managing their banking needs. This marks the highest percentage of mobile users since the group began polling Americans in 2017. Digital banking channels allow for more efficient transactions, personalised services and improved customer experiences.

But as technology continues to reshape financial services, banks must adapt to meet evolving customer expectations while maintaining trust and security. This transformation presents both challenges and opportunities for banking leaders. While experienced leaders bring decades of industry insights, technological literacy, innovative thinking and the ability to reimagine traditional business models are necessary to keep pace in today’s financial landscape. The risk of not innovating is high – losing customers to more technologically advanced competitors.

If you haven’t started these discussions with your team, the time is now. Here’s a look at a few strategies modern leaders are evaluating to build scalable products and long-term customer loyalty.

While global technology spending in banking has continued to increase each year, it isn’t always easy to quantify the net benefits, according to McKinsey. This means banks must allocate investments strategically to prioritise ensuring value creation drivers and take the time to define strategic investment themes such as improving the customer experience or boosting operational efficiency. Some initial considerations on spending could include:

• Enhancing protection against cybersecurity threats, which are increasing in frequency and sophistication. Focus on creating intuitive, secure digital platforms that meet customer needs.

• Exploring ways to leverage data analytics to gain insights into customer behavior and preferences. Use these insights to create personalised products and services.

• Experimenting with AI and automation to increase efficiency and employee satisfaction. Integrating GenAI across a broader risk or quality control process could deliver 75% productivity gains highlighted by KPMG in a recent report.

Some leaders believe a bank must own an entire customer ecosystem or platform, but this is a dated school of thought. Leaders must put their customer needs at the centre and understand who they can collaborate with to solve the problem together – building a stronger, scalable ecosystem for the future. Partnering with, or even acquiring, fintech companies offers a great way for banks to access innovative technologies and stay competitive. These partnerships can help banks offer new services and reach new customer segments.