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http://www.fortune.com/adsectionsEmbr acingInnovationWhile many parts of thefi nancial services industryhave gone digital,companies need toremain focused oncreating bettercustomerexperiences.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.” ●