Almost half of financial services firms don’t have a fintech strategy - KPMG

A new global report from KPMG has revealed that while 57 per cent of financial institutions say fintech is the greatest source of disruption, only 46 percent have a fintech strategy in place.

As emerging technologies disrupt traditional financial services, many institutions are lacking effective strategies, according to Forging the future.

The report finds that only 46 percent of financial services institutions have a clear fintech strategy in place and worryingly less than half of those believe their strategy is well aligned with the challenges posed by fintech.

Forty two percent of firms have a strategy under development and 10 percent have no fintech strategy at all.

“We’re seeing many financial institutions continue to struggle to build and execute a comprehensive strategy around fintech, explains Sam Subesinghe, head of consulting for KPMG in Scotland. “ In many cases, fintech innovation is left to individual functional areas, without any kind of overarching strategy across the organisation.”

Partnering is driving fintech activity with 81 percent of firms planning to build partnerships in the next 12 months. Over 70 percent of respondents ranked ‘enhancing customer service’ as a top objective for their fintech strategy.

Mr Subesinghe adds: “As customers our definition of convenient has shifted; we expect things in an instant and to be at the tips of our fingers 24/7. Financial services firms are no longer just competing with one another, they have to deliver the type of positive customer experience delivered by other sectors such as retail; this is a major challenge for a sector which has grown-up with infrequent and often indirect customer interaction. For me, one of the most interesting findings in today’s report is that 78 percent of firms say their fintech strategy includes partnering with other large non-financial institutions.”