Elsewhen and Pacemakers Launch Bank of the Future: A Blueprint for the Future of Finance in a Customer-First Age
Cloud-native Banking-as-a-service provider, Vodeno, chosen as technology partner to help bring the concept to life
LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#banking—Elsewhen and Pacemakers have joined forces to launch Bank of the Future (BOTF): a transformative, customer-centric concept that challenges banks and other brands to rethink financial products and services exclusively from a customer perspective.
The two companies are working with Vodeno to help deliver the concept with its VODENO Cloud Platform, one of the most comprehensive fully cloud-based banking platforms on the market. The three firms are seeking other progressive organisations keen to adopt the BOTF model in order to revolutionise the way consumers use financial services.
“In a world driven by accelerated customer expectations, Elsewhen and Pacemakers envisage a new paradigm that views banking exclusively through the customer’s eyes,” said Leon Gauhman, Chief Product and Strategy Officer, Elsewhen. “Bank of the Future will help customers achieve their financial objectives through deep personalisation, real-time advice and a focus on customer outcomes.”
Using APIs from open banking, social media, online spending and location services to apply insights from customers’ data, past and present, BOTF automatically takes the best course of action for the customer, becoming a trusted, transparent and invisible financial companion.
Key features include:
1. Real-time, automated personal bank
BOTF provides customers with their own real-time, automated personal bank, dedicated to acting in their interests and responding to their needs around three core functions: spending, borrowing and saving (or investing). Customers can allow many day-to-day banking decisions to be taken automatically by their bank, based on real-time and historic behaviour, while still manually approving larger decisions and transactions. For example, the BOTF would liberate customers from their monthly paycheck to paycheck dependency by carrying out automatic adjustments to cover direct debits, payments and savings, notifying them as it goes.
2. Customer outcomes, not selling products
Incumbent banks sell standardised financial products and services, designed around their own needs and operational limitations. By contrast, BOTF will focus solely on customer needs and outcomes, simplifying the banking process into an invisible intuitive customer experience through seamless UI, natural language interfaces and automatic recommendations that are based on a customer’s own data and support their financial ambitions.
3. Profitable customer retention a core KPI
While a bank which operates in its customers’ rather than its own best interests feels counterintuitive, ultimately the BOTF will be more profitable, allowing banks that adopt the concept to both maintain high levels of customer satisfaction and make money. In an intensely competitive market what differentiates the Bank of the Future from the other players are its core assets of trust, ease of use and transparency.
4. BOTF will accelerate the trend towards embedded finance
As banking becomes more seamless, invisible and personalised, BOTF will become the catalyst for embedded finance where it can deliver banking-as-a-service to consumers by empowering communities of customers across retailers, telcos, manufacturers, sports clubs, entertainers and more.
5. BOTF is more than just a concept
The Bank of the Future model is already possible with Vodeno’s technology: all that’s needed is a player with the courage to fulfil its potential. We believe that the BOTF is the first truly customer-centric bank, finally acknowledging that customers do not want to buy banking products, they want solutions to help them achieve their financial goals.
For more information watch this video explainer.
Commenting on the partnership:
Elsewhen Chief Product and Strategy Officer, Leon Gauhman, said:
“There is so much more we can do to make banking an intuitive, deeply personalised experience that prioritises customers’ needs rather than banks’ profit margins. Thanks to Pacemakers’ strategy, Elsewhen’s design and product expertise and Vodeno’s cloud-native platform, the Bank of Future could be built today. My challenge to banks, financial services and other brands is: why wait?”
Pacemakers Managing Partner, Alessandro Hatami, said:
“Most of the banking solutions offered today by banks and fintechs are simply improving what banks were doing decades ago using digital technology. It’s time to do better. The Bank of the Future is a prototype of the first car when everyone else is focussing on building faster horses.”
Vodeno Chief Commercial Officer, Tom Bentley, said:
“We believe consumers should have access to the best banking products and services, anytime and anywhere. Modern cloud-based technologies make this promise a reality, and we built our VODENO Cloud Platform to be one of the most comprehensive banking platforms with the mission to offer embedded financial services to fintechs, established businesses and brands. The Bank of the Future concept is a very compelling vision of a customer-first future, and we are excited to have our platform be the engine to make it happen.”
–ENDS–
Notes to editors
Why this blend of companies?
Pacemakers devised the strategy for Bank of the Future, defining a vision that is exciting but also viable, with a detailed rationale and reasoning for a customer-centric future.
Elsewhen translated this vision into real customer journeys, designing an arresting visual proof of concept that is both desirable and feasible for today’s banking customer.
The concept will be brought to life by technology partner Vodeno, which can implement its comprehensive cloud-native Banking-as-a-service platform to make the BOTF possible here and now.
How does BOTF fit into banks’ current transformation journey?
With strategy devised by Pacemakers and design and product vision led by Elsewhen, three phases of banking innovation — Adapt, Evolve and Transform – serve as the blueprint for BOTF. Banks and fintechs are already delivering on the ‘Adapt;’ ‘Evolve’ is the next step powered by a number of innovative core banking platforms and solutions. BOTF represents the ‘Transform’ phase, comprising a new customer-centric model that challenges the traditional banking ecosystem.
About:
Elsewhen is a digital product consultancy working in financial services. They help leaders harness a cutting edge approach to design and technology to deliver positive impact for their organisations.
Pacemakers is a strategic advisor for the financial services industry. They help large firms transform by identifying, engaging and collaborating with the right innovative organisations to work with – from global corporations to disruptive startups.
Vodeno’s mission is to revolutionise the Financial Services Industry. Combining a modern cloud-native ‘360’ platform ecosystem with deep banking experience, we are uniquely positioned to help regulated and non-regulated entities deliver compelling and unique customer propositions. The VODENO Cloud Platform (VCP) is one of the world’s first and most comprehensive ‘Banking-as-a-service’ platforms, enabled in partnership by ECB licensed Aion Bank to deliver embedded financial services for banks, lenders and merchants regardless of size or sector. Vodeno offers the ability to meet the demands of regulation while enabling innovation at speed.
Contacts
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