Bank 4.0: Banking Everywhere, Never at    Bank

Featured

Bank 4.0: Banking Everywhere, Never at Bank

Reviewed by Mr. Chintan Oza , BMA Member

Non-Fiction

Publisher: Marshall Cavendish International 

Price: INR 2237 .

Brett King is a visionary thought leader and a practitioner.  His latest book Bank 4.0: Banking Everywhere, Never at Bank draws on his practical experience in launching a neo-bank, as well as first-hand experience as to current trends globally. This book is next episode to Bank 3.0 where in Omni-channel, QR-Code, KYC and/or Big-data is the foundation technology layer. Bank 4.0 takes us to the next wave of disruption that includes AI, Blockchain and futuristic payment systems.

The problem with typical books trying to predict future is the tendency to over predict, paint a vague and hazy picture which mostly doesn’t get into reality. But, Brett is a visionary author who has provided real and futuristic examples that convinces reader. Yes, such scenario/example is feasible in future and soon gets adopted / rolled out. We are in an era where Amazon, Google, Apple, Facebook are racing to dive into fintech by offering e-wallets or cards or check accounts or insurance. When the biggest bank in the world wouldn’t any of the names you’d expect, when branch networks are a burden not an asset, and when advice is the domain of Artificial Intelligence, we may very well have to start from scratch.

 

Brett King’s Bank 4.0 takes you to a world where banking will be instant, smart and ubiquitous, and all stakeholders will have to be agile to adapt faster than ever before just to survive. Welcome to the future. Bank 4.0 explores the radical transformation already taking place in banking and follows it to its logical conclusion. What will banking look like in 30 years? 50 years? The world’s best banks have been forced to adapt to changing consumer behaviours; regulators are rethinking ethics, licensing, regulation, compliance and governance.

 

Fintech start-ups and tech giants are redefining how banking fits in the daily life of consumers and can extract more business value using technologies. i.e. generating insights and monetizing data of consumption pattern when customer orders milk using a smart speaker/voice assistant. To survive competition, banks are rushing to develop new capabilities, new jobs, new products, new services and even new business model altogether. The future of banking is not just about new thinking around loyalty programs, payment gateways and credit utility — it’s embedded in voice-based smart assistants like Alexa and Siri and soon smart lenses which will guide you on daily spending and money decisions. The coming Bank 4.0 era is one where either your bank is embedded in your world via tech, or it no longer exists. In this latest volume in Brett King’s BANK series, we explore the future of banks amidst the evolution of technology and discover a revolution already at work. From re-engineered banking systems, to selfie-pay and self-driving cars, Bank 4.0 proves that Banking everywhere, Never at Bank. Bank 4.0 will help you:

  • Think through the evolution of identity, value and assets as cash and cards become obsolete
  • If you look at individual technologies or start-ups disrupting the space, you might miss the biggest signposts to the future, and you might also miss that most of we’ve learned about banking the last 700 years just isn’t useful.
  • Understand the historical precedents that flag a fundamental rethinking in banking
  • Learn how Fintech and tech “disruptors” are using behaviour, psychology and technology to reshape the economics of banking
  • Discover low-friction, technology experiences that undermine the products we sell today
  • Examine the ways in which Blockchain, AI, Augmented Reality and other leading-edge tech are the real building blocks of the future of banking systems

Brett’s opening point of reference. Elon Musk’s successful attempt to reconfigure the space industry, by returning to first principles and consequently bringing down costs by 90%, is a telling and prescient analogy. Banks, and bankers are deeply set in their ways, but just because something has been done the same way for centuries, it is no reason to continue doing so in the future. Whether traditional banks themselves are able to respond to this challenge or not is their own existential issue. However, for the wider society the innovations in how we live our lives will drive adoption, and potentially leave existing banks in the dinosaurs’ graveyard if they can’t deliver the products and services that we, as consumers want to see.

When it is by Brett King and it is about the future on the horizon. Thought provoking scenarios, multiple industry references and lucid language holds the reader up to the end of the book. Bank 4.0 does potentially conclude a series of recent books Brett has written about banking. Though the name of the book is Bank but it is a must for all technocrats, businessmen and everyone connected with business/economy.

What an interesting book to start new year 2020!!! Brett King is able to make his point – Banking Everywhere Never at Bank – convincingly by citing numerous examples and drawing right technological references. His recommendations on the actions required are also fresh and original, and in a sense implementable. I firmly believe that it will just take some time for Brett’s predictions to be fully realized. A “must read” to motivate yourself to action, either if you are a banking executive or a tech entrepreneur. I loved the concept of “design by principles” as opposed to the author demonstration that the banking industry evolves “design by analogy”. And why not, time for Bank 5.0 may arrive soon!!! In the interim, let’s continue to bank on future… 😊

5 + 13 =