Challenger Banks: New Propositions for a New Age of Finance

This document discusses the proliferation of digital banking in the Asia/Pacific region that is driven by technological advances and regulators that have lowered the barrier of entry to the banking industry. IDC profiled several digital banks and the type of technology used in demonstrating how a digitally native agenda is executed, paving the way for traditional banks to follow suit. The report also highlights the role of these new type of banks in increasing financial inclusion, particularly across Asia/Pacific in which a significant number still do not have access to financial services."With several digital banks set to launch across Asia/Pacific over the next t years, we will witness an era of banking driven by customer centricity. Digital banks will endeavor to address any gaps left by traditional banks in convenience and efficiency. As more fintechs start their journey into offering financial services, we will see them adapting third-party functionalities into their ecosystem via open application programming interfaces (APIs) that will facilitate more data sharing - a crucial move in creating a truly personalized digital banking experience. Although challenger banks will likely not grow to be dominant in the retail banking sector, they will gain sufficient ground in markets in which their value proposition resonates with market needs, as well as in a rising digitally inclined generation that will embark on their banking journey in the coming years."