Banking 2025: four pillars of the digital-first bank

When today’s customers evaluate financial institutions, they don’t compare different banks anymore, they compare experiences. Everything in their lives as consumers is better than ever, with real-time, smart digital services being delivered daily via their smartphone. Booking a flight, planning a holiday, shopping online – it’s all easy, instant, and seamless. Onboarding takes a few clicks and more importantly, unhappy customers can switch providers in a heartbeat.

Smart digital platforms power these superior experiences and this digital-first model has changed the game forever. There has been a fundamental shift in how business gets done, where staying relevant means becoming an active part of a customer’s digital life.

To survive when giants like Google make their way into people’s financial lives, banks must have the right framework in place to compete. This framework is the digital-first platform, supported by four pillars – omni-channel banking, smart banking, modular banking, and open banking. Each of these four pillars is fundamental to success in the banking industry of the future.