Executive Summary

2016 Accenture
Technology Vision
for Banking
2 2016 Accenture Technology Vision for Banking

People First: The Primacy

of People in a Digital Age
Digital continues to swiftly impact every aspect of banking. Of the
316 bankers polled in our global technology survey, 85 percent
anticipate that the pace of technology change will increase rapidly
or at an unprecedented rate in the banking industry over the next
three years. While banks know they must also act fast to manage
the disruption, they also recognize that their success hinges
on people. Those that win will evolve their corporate culture to
empower peoplecustomers, workers and ecosystem partners
to both accomplish more with technology and usher in the new
business strategies that those technologies drive.
 2016 Accenture Technology Vision for Banking 3

Under the theme People First: The Primacy

of People in a Digital Age, the 2016 Accenture
Technology Vision highlights five emerging
technology trends shaping the new business
landscape: Platform Economy, Digital Trust,
Liquid Workforce, Intelligent Automation
and Predictable Disruption.

This report offers a banking industry-

specific perspective on these five
trends. Banks will need to address
each trend first from a strategic
business and then a digital enablement
lens as they begin to transform
themselves into the Everyday Bank,
interacting daily with customers to
meet their financial and non-financial
needs every day.
4 2016 Accenture Technology Vision for Banking

Platform Economy:
Its time for banks to join in
and welcome others
 2016 Accenture Technology Vision for Banking 5

Digital platform businesses are changing the way companies

can do business and thrive in the digital age. The top 15 public
platform companies represent $2.6 trillion in market capitalization
worldwide.1 Platform businesses offer a win-win proposition
between partners. Banks can use their massive data as a springboard
across an ecosystem to create and exchange value, contributing to
everyone reaping rewards greater than what they could gain alone.
84%
The opening question for big banks: 3. Core financial services utility/
are you ready to participate within a manufacturer, perfecting their
conglomeration of partners? Should traditional role to package and provide
a bank construct a value network compliant financial services for
around itself or join others networks? platformstapping multiple talent and
Drawing on Accentures banking scalability to keep overhead costs as
experience and assessment of some low as possible.
well-defined consumer-to-business 4. Innovation playmaker, participating
(C2B) ecosystems (including Google, in FinTech and digital banking
Apple, Facebook and Amazon), banks ecosystems through various approaches
should operate across a combination of
five key roles:
(including incubators, accelerators and 84% of bank
venture funds) to provide capital and
1. Relationship player, owning the
enter new businesses. executives believe
customer relationship and collaborating 5. Digital ID enabler, offering consumers
easy access to digital commerce;
platforms will be
with ecosystem partners, C2B players
and FinTechsto provide everyday 59 percent of bankers are already the glue that
life solutions; 52 percent of bankers investing in a competitive digital
expect to be working with new digital technology program. brings organizations
partners within the industry in the next
two years while 42 percent expect Because value networks are likely to
together in the
to be working with those outside develop around various customer needs digital economy.
the industry. and segments that attract different
sets of providers, most banks will
2. Platform provider, running a
play a role in many value networks
platform for participants to interact,
simultaneously. Success requires a
create and sell products/services and
solid platform strategy as well as new
share value; 84 percent of bankers
insight, skills and digital enablers to
believe platforms will be the glue that
conduct new functions, such as building
brings organizations together in the
and maintaining application managers
digital economy.
or managing third-party developers.
6 2016 Accenture Technology Vision for Banking

Digital Trust:
Erase the trust paradox
 2016 Accenture Technology Vision for Banking 7

Despite bankers acknowledgement of the importance of trust, banks

face a digital trust paradox. While customers trust banks to hold
their money and personal data, per Accenture research,2 they are
skeptical when it comes to banks always giving the best service
value and advice that benefits them. Customers rank financial
services companies among the least trusted to behave in ethical
ways, according to the 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer report.3
Digital is expanding this paradox: the more customers trust digital 84%
banking, the more banks introduce digital servicesa dynamic that
makes customer data increasingly vulnerable. Nearly 80 percent of
bankers strongly agree that they are exposed to more risks than
they are equipped to handle as a digital business. Eighty-five
percent say that as data-centric products and services put data-
handling concerns in the spotlight, companies are exposed to
exponentially more risk; 85 percent agree that a lack of data security
and ethical controls could exclude them from participating in other
companies digital platforms and broader ecosystems. 84% of bank
Banks can combine stronger ethics with Mastering ethical ways to collect, executives agree
tighter security, using their massive secure, access, manage, use and,
data and digital technologies to enhance possibly, monetize data to benefit that trust is the
safety of traditional banking and grow
relationship trust by:
customers with minimal, if any, risky
insider activity. Eighty-three percent
cornerstone of the
Exploiting regulatory compliance
of bankers see a strong or very strong digital economy.
demand for increased ethical controls
for service advantages. For example,
of data among their knowledge workers.
analytics enables banks to use
Employing digital technology be
Know Your Customer data to sense
more transparent, helping customers
customers life events and offer
to better follow processes for
personalized services at the right
their banking services and to hold
time. Other providers may also value
banks accountable.
such predictive insight.
Adopting a zero-tolerance approach,
Taking ethical guidance from
supported by security innovation
customers on what matters to
(such as behavioral biometrics
them, reassuring their data privacy
and security-embedded products).
and better balancing data value
Barclays, for example, is offering
with moral limits for key transactions.
fingervein scanning to validate
large transactions.4
8 2016 Accenture Technology Vision for Banking

Liquid Workforce:
Fluid teams focused on results
 2016 Accenture Technology Vision for Banking 9

Banks are already using technology innovation to empower their

workforce and operate more effectively. Bankers reported that 55
Skills
percent of the jobs in their organization have a digital component
today and expect that number to increase to 61 percent in
three years.
Build learning as a
core competency in
Still, banks need morethe
thanorganization
the right to needed to deliver and sustain
Skills
actively
technology. They need generate
to harness that
technology to enable the right people
the outcome over time, and how
skills
to source them. With its core
74%
that are in demand.
to do the right things in an adaptable, competencies defined and internal
change-ready, and responsive liquid workforce positioned to develop
workforce. It requires banks to build and execute those competencies,
flexibility fundamentally into three key banks can draw on diverse external
workforce areas: skills, projects and the sourceson-demand workers (such
organization as a whole. Interestingly, as freelancers, contractors and
Projects
80 percent of bankers agree that the Organization
consultants), participative public
workforce of the future will be structured pools (such as crowdsourcing and
Use
moretechnology
by projects thanto by job functions. Optimizedevelopment
application workforce companies)
coalesce and disband
Forward-thinking banks will go even responsiveness withproviders
and more constant service
furtherand
internal to organize
externaltheir workforces (such as traditional
insightful analyticsoutsourcers)to
that 74% of bank
around business outcomes and business create real workforce fluidity for high
talent at your disposal
services. Imagine, for example, that
provide a real-time
scalability and efficiency. Seventy- executives believe
forcustomers
new innovative view of organizational
finance
want a unified view of their
projects.
regardless of where their accounts
five percent of bankers expects that
capabilities.
the larger proportion of workers in
that a more fluid
and assets may reside. Satisfying this the organization to shift towards workforce would
need as a service or a product would more flexible, multi-employees
be the desired outcome. (generalist) in three years. improve their
To structure their workforces and
Best-fit delivery approach with
multi-speed features (such as new
innovation.
services around outcomes, banks will tools and techniques such as DevOps,
need to first determine the: APIs) that allow banks to organize
and match team characteristics (size,
Value for the customer, based on
governance, methods and so forth)
their changing needs and behaviors.
with business consumption and pace
Investment to bake skills development
of change.
and diversity into teams through
tactics such as implanting training,
cross-fertilizing skills and incorporating
soft skills. Bankers cited the ability
to quickly learn, proficiency with
digital technologies and willingness
to embrace change as top qualities
for employees to perform well in a
digital work environment.
10 2016 Accenture Technology Vision for Banking

Intelligent Automation:
The essential new co-worker in
digital banking
 Professional Service
2016 Accenture Technology Vision for Banking11
Robots

152,400 units
$19.6 billion
Customers who walk into Mizuho Banks flagship branch in Tokyo
may be greeted by Pepper, a robotic concierge that recognizes
facial expressions, emotions and behavior to assist branch visitors.5
Its one example of how banking innovation is embracing intelligent
automation. Banks recognize artificial intelligence (AI) as a change,
growth and innovation driver. Capturing the full advantage of AI
means pairing intelligent automation with people to improve the
way bank employees work. 86%
Bank executives plan on using machine New ways of working. For example,
learning (79 percent) and embedded machines can analyze job applicant
AI solutions (80 percent) extensively. traits to predict which ones will leave
Their top target areas for more and recommend retention strategies
automation: knowledge worker insights that HR managers can use to
(91 percent), customer interaction/ personalize employee programs.
experience (90 percent) and IT (90 Capture of new revenue, for example,
percent) tasks. By shaping a highly serving low-to-medium net worth
productive relationship between people customers (such as financial inclusion
and machines, banks can create a
more empowered workforce and better
segments) with a personal touch 86% of bank
which banks couldnt do profitably
business outcomes. For example: in the past. executives agree
Faster decisions, as machines
Banks that intend to exploit the benefits
that the widespread
can analyze banks massive data
simultaneously in seconds to then of AI will need to make important
and significant adjustments to their
use of AI provides
be used by bank advisors, for example,
to offer more personalized service. organization, culture and skillsets to for a competitive
bring people along with confidence.
Greater efficiency by automating, advantage
speeding up and off-loading some of
the more routine and repetitive tasks beyond cost.
(such as qualifying loan applicants)
and freeing executives to focus on
higher-value functions.
Highly-tailored customer service
where machines quickly access and
analyze Big Data to verify customer
identity, understand problems, find
solutions, recommend services and
hand off to a human specialist,
if necessary.
12 2016 Accenture Technology Vision for Banking

Predictable Disruption:
Banks need to be proactive to
spot the next wave
 85%
2016 Accenture Technology Vision for Banking 13

Banks have certainly seen their share of disruption over the

last few yearsfrom online banking to peer-to-peer lending to
blockchain-based payments and money transfers to everything
else in between. Fast-emerging digital ecosystems with record-
high market caps and asymmetrical growth will likely spur the
next major stage of banking disruption. Unfortunately, there
is no crystal ball bankers can look into to know their future.
Still, because ecosystems are inherently tied to industries and 85%
business models, banks can gain a proactive grasp on the upside
of disruption.
Traditional banks with strong relationships self-driving cars, for example, Uber
across industries are particularly well executives hope to draw on their
placed to predict and take advantage success momentum to usher and
of ecosystem movement. Consider the ease the transition to autonomous
emerging autonomous and connected cars.6 The path from ride-sharing to
car ecosystems. Banks can tap into the driverless car economy implies
their automotive, consumer products new demands on banking and
and industry relationships, for example, financial services. 85% of bank
to envision the connected car future
and take action to stake their claim
Use of new technologies to reshape
industry processes, products and
executives agree
in it. services. An example is Google bank industry
Chauffer software. Already with
Particularly, banks can watch for and more than 1.5 million self-driven boundaries are
recognize three small tremors to miles logged, the software processes
anticipate imminent earthquakes of all the information to help a driverless being erased and
ecosystem-driven disruption: car safely navigate the road without
getting tired or distracted.7 Such
new paradigms
Rapid growth and patterns of digital
ecosystems inside and outside of
development effort by Google and are emerging with
many others around autonomous
banking. Platform businesses, like
the connected car, can quickly ripple
cars is bringing a distant innovation every industry being
out to multiple industries. Most will
closer to near-term reality.
significantly impacted.
rely on banks financial services in
one form or another, such as for By paying attention to and predicting
payments or loans. these and other signs of disruption
(such as labor, cost and regulatory
Shifts in consumer income and
changes), banks can redirect their
spending that may indicate needs
strategic actions toward new roles
and point to new bank products or
and pathways.
services. By looking to employ its
network of drivers in a network of
14 2016 Accenture Technology Vision for Banking

Put People First

Collectively, these five trends
point to a new digital culture
that banks must begin to
assimilate in moving forward
and transforming themselves.
Savvy banks will heed the sign
and determine how best to lead
their people there successfully.
 2016 Accenture Technology Vision for Banking 15

People First:

100-Day Plan
Over the next three months, consider the five trends and their implications for
shaping your new People First strategy for the digital future.

1. Begin to develop a comprehensive 2. Understand the current state of digital risk

strategy that will establish the foundation the bank is exposed to and benchmark data
for your platform business model points that can be improved.
and ecosystem.

3. Hold initial discussions around a new 4. Consider ways to best understand and
workforce vision and strategy, considering begin to predict the disruptive triggers of
the capabilities in place now and what will emerging ecosystems.
you need in the short- and long-term.

5. Develop a comprehensive understanding

of the current state of intelligent automation
and artificial intelligence (including how it is
currently used and its optimal application) in
your bank.
Contacts About Accenture
For more information, contact: Accenture is a leading global professional services company,
providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy,
Steve Westland
consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched
Managing Director, Technology Strategy, Accenture experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries
steven.westland@accenture.com
and all business functionsunderpinned by the worlds largest
delivery networkAccenture works at the intersection of business
Emmanuel Viale and technology to help clients improve their performance and
Managing Director, Accenture Technology LabsEurope create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately
emmanuel.viale@accenture.com 373,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture
drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives.
Schira Lillis Visit us at www.accenture.com.
Lead, Global Financial Services Research, Accenture
schira.lillis@accenture.com

Made by Accenture Research

References Accenture Research is a global team of industry and digital analysts
who create data-driven insights to identify disruptors, opportunities
1 The Unicorn List, CB Insights, 2015. and risks for Accenture and its clients. Using innovative business
2 2015 Accenture Digital Consumer Survey. research techniques such as economic value modeling, analytics,
3 The State of Trust in Financial Services, Edelman, June 8, 2015. crowdsourcing, expert networks, surveys, data visualization and
http://www.edelman.com/post/the-state-of-trust-in-financial- research with academic and business partners they create hundreds
services/ of points of views published by Accenture every year.
4 12 technologies that will change banking and the way we
save, Techworld, February 16, 2016. http://www.techworld.com/
picture-gallery/personal-tech/9-technologies-that-can-change-
way-we-save-3593548/#8 Follow Accenture Banking
5 Mizuho introduces SoftBanks Pepper robot to Tokyo bank Accenture Banking
branch, The Japan Times, July 17 2015. http://www.japantimes.
co.jp/news/2015/07/17/business/tech/mizuho-introduces-soft- @BankingInsights
banks-pepper-robot-tokyo-bank-branch/#.Vu3bgseMmb8
6 Uber: well ease the transition to self-driving cars, The Guardian,
September 16, 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/
2015/sep/17/uber-well-ease-the-transition-to-self-driving-cars
7 Google Self Driving Car Project https://www.google.com/self-
drivingcar/

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