A Juniper Research study speculates that 53 percent of the world’s population will access digital banking services in 2026.
This means 4.2 billion digital banking users, from 2.5 billion in 2021. The research identified increased digital transformation efforts as enabling banks to function effectively during the pandemic; justifying the benefits of digital banking and fostering further user growth.
The research, Digital Banking: Banking-as-a-Service, Market Transformation & Forecasts 2021 2026, identified that China will be the largest digital banking market over the next five years; accounting for almost 25 percent of digital banking users in 2026. The research recommends that banks better integrate their many offerings into a single, consistent digital experience, to better compete with the diverse competition. Let’s hope the much vaunted digital thrust in the UK doesn’t turn out to be a chimera.
Juniper Research’s Digital Transformation in Banking Readiness Index analysed 30 leading Tier 1 banks on their “innovation” in terms of digital features, investment and innovation, as well as on their agility in terms of size, profitability and brand strength, in order to evaluate their digital transformation readiness and highlight their respective positioning.
It identified the leading group of banks for digital transformation:
1. Bank of America
2. HSBC
3. JPMorgan Chase
4. BBVA
5. DBS Bank
Bank of America offers an ever-expanding digital platform, including the Erica chatbot, and has recorded significant upticks in digital usage and engagement during the pandemic. JPMorgan Chase has experimented with blockchain and made acquisitions, such as that of wealth manager Nutmeg in the UK to boost its offerings. HSBC has launched innovative new solutions, such as HSBC Kinetic for small businesses in the UK, with BBVA launching initiatives including cryptocurrency trading and DBS Bank having high levels of digital engagement.
Research co-author Damla Sat noted: ‘These banks have progressed with well-planned and executed digital transformation strategies, and other banks need to build similarly broad and revolutionary roadmaps or be left behind by more agile competitors.’
