Sibos 2024: Building the bank of tomorrow – connecting the future of finance in a rapidly evolving payments landscape
In the evolving world of finance, banks are at a crossroads. Every aspect of the payments industry is undergoing a profound transformation, making this year’s Sibos 2024 conference theme – connecting the future of finance – more relevant than ever.
The bank of tomorrow will be defined by its ability to adapt to the pace of technological innovation
We are witnessing shifts in infrastructure, regulation, competition, and client expectations—all of which require banks to anticipate and adapt to customer needs with agility and foresight. As we look ahead, it’s clear that the future of banking will be shaped by our ability to navigate these changes, capitalise on new technologies, and foster deeper collaboration both within and outside our institutions.
The payments landscape is being redefined by a wave of changes in infrastructure. Established networks like Swift are undergoing significant transformations, and real-time payment solutions are becoming the norm. The shift to new messaging standards, such as ISO 20022, are indicative of this journey. At the same time, the regulatory environment is also evolving in a way that encourages us to become more efficient in our operations.
This rapidly changing landscape is also influencing our client base and the competitive environment. Fintech companies, once viewed as disruptors, are now challenging banks to invest in new business models, adopt cutting-edge technologies, and rethink the way they deliver services. However, fintechs are not just competitors, they are also valuable partners. By collaborating with fintechs, we can leverage their agility to co-create solutions that benefit our clients and expand our capabilities.
Our clients are also on a transformative journey towards local and international growth, while facing an uncertain geopolitical and economic environment. Clients want to know the precise status of their balances, exposure to counterparty and currency risks, and vulnerabilities in real time. Despite the complexities, they continue to have ambitions to expand globally, employing new strategies like nearshoring and supply chain diversification.
One consistent demand from our clients is simplicity. The CFOs and treasurers we engage with are looking for seamless and straightforward banking experiences that offer solutions that are intuitive and easy to use. At HSBC, we are responding by focusing on digital innovation. We are introducing new digital solutions that align with the needs of the digital economy. For example, in Hong Kong, we are working closely with our retail banking team and fintech partners to develop a new merchant collection solution, enabling businesses to collect payments digitally and efficiently.
We are also leveraging technology to enhance our FX intelligence capabilities and distribution networks, using AI and other advanced tools to better serve our clients. We are collaborating with fintechs to transform our cross-border capabilities to make them more future ready, especially when supporting the payment flows that our clients make to consumers.
Looking ahead, the changes we expect to see over the next five years will likely surpass those of the past decade, challenging us to evolve constantly. We anticipate three major trends that will shape the future of payments.
First, the pace of technological change will accelerate, driving significant improvements in cost, speed, convenience, transparency, and security.
Second, payments will increasingly become a critical differentiator for businesses, especially in sectors like ride-sharing and gig economy participants, where efficient payment solutions attract both customers and service providers. As payments become more integral to the value proposition of businesses, they will also become less visible as standalone functions. In other words, payments will be embedded seamlessly into the customer experience, becoming a vital yet invisible component of broader digital ecosystems.
Finally, we anticipate a shift in the very definition of money. The rise of digital assets is challenging long-held assumptions about what constitutes money and how it is transferred. We are already involved in several pilot projects exploring the use of digital assets and anticipate that these initiatives will move from experimental phases to mainstream adoption in the coming years.
As we embrace the theme of connecting the future of finance at Sibos, we recognise that the bank of tomorrow will be defined by its ability to adapt to the pace of technological innovation and the evolving financial landscape.
