Note From the Editor

Puneet Chhahira

Head of Marketing and Platform Strategy at Infosys Finacle

As Winston Churchill popularly said – To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. Keeping pace with change to remain relevant is indeed the biggest endeavour of banking leaders today. Irrespective of whether we look from the viewpoint of the consumers, investors, or competitiveness, the traditional banking model looks unsustainable, while innovative digital models are going from strength to strength.

Banks need to accelerate the transformation to embrace new business models that enable them to fight for a share of ‘new banking’, conducted through models such as BaaS, embedded finance, and marketplace banking. And that is the theme of this edition of Finacle Connect – Unlocking Business Model Innovation Opportunities.

Today, there is near-universal acceptance of the need for rewriting the banking business model, and most banks have programs well underway. In this issue, some of the leading banks share their experiences. CBA’s Jesse Arundell talks about how a variety of technologies, including cryptocurrency, cloud and blockchain, are helping innovation in the Australian market. Pierre Ruhlmann of BNP Paribas says embedded finance and digital first are the future of banking. In his interview, Faisal Ameen shares how challenges – pandemic, regulatory environment, talent shortage – are driving innovation at Bank of America. Deepak Sharma of Kotak Mahindra Bank talks about the catalysts for change driving business model innovation. And, Kaspar Situmorang of BRI shares the biggest opportunities for business model innovation in banking.

We are also delighted to share our perspective on various trends and technologies influencing banking business model innovation. Mohit Joshi, President, Infosys underlines opportunities banks can unlock by adopting platform business models. For instance, banks can co-create products with ecosystem partners, or tie up with third parties to acquire customers, on their behalf. In his article “Unlocking the Embedded Finance Opportunity”, Sanat Rao, Chief Business Officer, Global Head, Infosys Finacle, makes a compelling case for licensed institutions to monetize their advantage and expand their reach by leveraging Embedded Finance opportunities.

The biggest challenge for bank leaders is to stay relevant in the face of competition from new, non-bank players – players who are more innovative, better capitalized, richer in technology talent, or advantaged in some other way.

There is only one way to do this, and that is by accelerating business model innovation. And we hope the articles in this edition offer insight and inspiration to help accelerate the journey.

As always, we are eager to hear from you.

Happy reading!