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Embr acing

Innovation

While many parts of the

fi nancial services industry

have gone digital,

companies need to

remain focused on

creating better

customer

experiences.

OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, THE FINANCIAL INDUSTRY

has undergone, for the most part, a signifi cant digital transforma-
tion. There are now digital banks and more mobile offerings, and
institutions are investing millions in innovation.
Change, though, hasn’t come easy. As much as the industry
has evolved, some companies are using legacy software, while
others still need customers to come into a branch. The ones that
have gone digital now need to focus on improving the customer
experience, which can be diffi cult with people’s tastes changing
so quickly.
In any case, digital transformation can’t be done piecemeal.
Ray Ruga, CEO of Fintech Americas, a Miami-based organiza-
tion focused on the digital transformation of the fi nancial sector,
likens it to upgrading a stock production car for a race. “If you
put a 1,000-horsepower engine in a regular Camaro, will it move
faster?” he asks. “No. You’d have to change the transmission, the
suspension, the tires, and the gauges in order to make this up-
grade work. It’s the same in fi nancial services—change needs to
be holistic; you can’t cherry-pick and expect to be competitive.”
Doing digital transformation right requires a culture shift, he
says. Banks need to embrace an aggressive innovation agenda,
and they have to give employees the opportunity to try new
things—and be okay if their ideas fail to work out. “With
so many moving pieces, teams need to be agile and
unafraid to take chances,” he says.
It’s also important for companies to realize that
they can’t make this kind of change themselves. Busi-

nesses must partner with fi nancial technology fi rms that are

already innovating. For instance, many are working with FIS, a

global fi nancial technology solutions provider based in Jackson-

ville, Fla., that’s helping traditional fi nancial fi rms embrace digital.

It has a host of fi ntech solutions that allow companies to more

easily interact with customers and employees, with the goal of

improving the customer experience.

With its Digital One suite of solutions, powered by its Digital

United platform, fi nancial institutions can easily transform several

parts of their business by creating a seamless experience. Its

consumer-facing portal enables self-service banking; a mobile

application allows people to bank from anywhere; and call-

center technology can help staff better assist customers. “It works

because we’re totally in the background,” says Bruce Lowthers,

FIS’s COO, Integrated Financial Solutions. “Our solutions can help

companies compete in this rapidly changing marketplace.”

FIS is also adding more consumer-like experiences to its

offerings so people can interact with their bank like they do with

other kinds of technology. The team is learning from games like

Pokémon and Fortnite. “We think about how we can incorporate

these things into our fi nancial applications so our clients can

pass something unique on to their clients,” he says.

It may still be a while before we can bank as

effortlessly as we can shop online, but it’s coming,

even if it’s unclear what lies ahead. “We’re going into

uncharted territory,” says Ruga, “but the industry has

begun to adapt.” ●