Sibos 2017: fear the bigtech
Sibos 2017: fear the bigtech
As the financial services industry and fintechs work ever closer, where does that leave bigtech?
“Bigtech, not fintech, is a threat to banks,” stated Elisabeth Rochman, financial services chief technologist, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, speaking at a discussion panel at Sibos.
“They are big, smart and very hungry companies. And they are investing billions of dollars in R&D.”
And yet… surely these bigtech firms – often referred to as GAFA (Google, Apple Facebook and Amazon) – do not want to be regulated like banks, noted Paul Camp, global head of HSBC’s financial institutions group.
And if they do take the plunge and decide to venture into banking, there is surely a conflict of interest, Rochman said. “The GAFA firms already know too much about us – would you trust them with your savings or current accounts?” With all that information, including all your financial data, how easy it will be for them to get you to part with your money and shop more, she mused. And all with just with a click of a button, and in some cases even before the button is clicked.
Amazon is already developing an anticipatory shipping programme, commented another panel participant, Leonard J Hardy, SVP, operations and technology – director, architecture and innovation chief architect, Northern Trust. Amazon will be shipping products it thinks you are going to buy to a warehouse nearest to you before you actually place an order.
With so much power at their fingertips, who’ll be regulating these bigtechs, Rochman asked.
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