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Digital Banking is 1% finished... Here's to the next 99%

Declining physical branches and Increasing Machine Learning data software: NeoBanks lay the foundation of where customers want to become the better version of themselves when using financial services. 

Challenger Banks like Starling, N26, Monzo and Revolut are regarded as 'the' Fintech Unicorns. With Co Founders like Anne Boden (Starling) and Nikolay Storonsky (Revolut) both having experience working at banks, Nikolay as a trader at Lehman Brothers and Anne over 30 years in the financial industry in banking. They jumped in the niche of the market of where trust in incumbent banks was not sufficient enough in terms of prioritising customer needs through a high cost network, these unicorn platforms arose where their only priority is to focus on what the customer desires. 
Credit: 11 Years - The Rise of UK Fintech, 2019


“ For many banks, it’s not like turning an aircraft. It’s turning around a floatation of aircraft. Legacy issues are hard. As new players are starting from scratch, we are able to start from scratch.”
       -   Steve Weston, CEO of Volt Bank

The Open Banking Catalyst to the Future

With a rate of thousands of new NeoBank customers everyday, NeoBanks are shaping the new digital banking sector. And it shows!

Founder of GoCardless and CEO & Co Founder of challenger bank Monzo, Tom Blomfield, explained in the YouTube documentary '11 YEARS - The Rise of UK Fintech, 2019’ that upon analyzing platforms like Uber and Spotify that fully focussed on the desires of a customer through a mobile device, something similar could be created in the banking industry. To him, it seemed that traditional incumbent banks were incapable to meet this consumer relationship level and probably too complicated for others to do so. With Monzo penetrating the ecosystem of banking:
“I think we’ll just become the banks of the future, then in 10 or 15 years there with a bunch of new  folks coming along saying we’re going to disrupt the big banks like Monzo!”
       -   Tom Blomfield, CEO & Co Founder of Monzo

To truly aim to be the world's first global bank, Nikolay Storonsky claims that through the platform of Revolut the future at a later stage lays with the launch of their own cryptocurrency, insurance and trading”. Even though, the Revolut boss contradicts that cryptocurrencies is an eminently slow process for regulators in many countries, however should it work out, a right balance needs to be adopted. 


“If we strike the right balance between using technology, regulation - reducing the risk of money laundering and terrorist funding - and customer protection then we’ll have the best from both worlds.”
       -   Nikolay Storonsky, CEO & Co Founder of Revolut
Check out the full documentary that explores how the UK created a thriving Fintech Ecosystem with:

Tom Blomfield - CEO & Co Founder of Monzo 
Rishi Khosla - CEO & Co Founder of OakNorth
Nikolay Storonsky - CEO & Co Founder of Revolut 
Anne Boden - CEO & Co Founder of Starling Bank

NEXT UP: A close analysis of Madrid’s Newest NeoBank ‘Rebellion Pay’

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