Smaller, retail banks no longer see their biggest competitive threat coming from inside their industry but rather from the efforts by global tech giants like Apple and Google to expand into their territory.
More than six in 10 banking executives ranked big tech firms as the most severe threat to their bottom lines, according to the Bank Executive Business Outlook Survey, a quarterly tracking of industry trends by fintech provider Promontory Interfinancial Network. That survey also found only about four in 10 executives believe largest banks presented their biggest competition.
The threats come as Google, Amazon and Facebook ratchet up their financial services offerings and push to become one-stop shops for consumer services. Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal announced that Google would introduce checking accounts. Amazon, which has grown its payments, insurance and loan business in recent years, has already been weighing checking accounts along with mortgage and small business credit card services. Facebook is in the middle of developing its own currency and has spoken with JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo about services it could host on its Messenger application.
Consumers are enthusiastic about tech’s moves as they seek more accessible and efficient, and less costly, banking services. Last week consulting giant Bain said in its annual banking report that more than six in 10 Americans would buy a financial product from a tech company.
“Lately, it seems everybody wants to get into the banking business,” the Promontory report said.
Other Promontory findings reflect similar shifts in consumer attitudes that have spurred the rise of non-banking and fintech firms’ initiatives, and prompted banks themselves to add to expand their services.
More than three in five bankers believe that peer-to-peer money transfer services will replace ATMs and traditional services, with more than half saying that their banks are already offering this service. Almost three in five bankers expect all-mobile banks will hold a large market share of millennial and post-millenial depositors.
- Amazon has more than 103 million Prime members in the U.S., up 10% from a year ago. Google has 1.5 billion active users worldwide, while Facebook has nearly 2.5 billion users.
- Global payment revenues reached $1.9 trillion in 2018, according to the consultancy McKinsey.
- Six in 10 Promontory respondents said that cybersecurity hacks represented the biggest overall threat to banks, while about 45% said it was a recession.
