The PACE – Performance Against Customer Expectations – survey has been measuring SMB customer perspectives on banking providers and the impact of technology since 2017. On considering the latest 2019 findings as a whole, four key takeaways emerge: managing customer churn, building out trust, equipping and enabling people alongside technology, and focusing on the user experience. Over the next 18 months to 2 years, I also anticipate a fifth takeaway – embedding social impact by design, as consumers demand a commitment to financial inclusion from their core banking provider, alongside transparent metrics to measure its progress and open dialogue channels to contribute to its evolution. Indeed, SMBs may be small to medium size businesses in terms of employee numbers, but they are increasingly big, innovative and sophisticated business for the banks which serve them and help them to grow. How can you best consider your customers and evaluate their needs alongside the banking, technology and social trends that matter most?

Banks are now offering an ever-growing number of digital functionalities1 targeted at delivering a superior client experience, exploring so-called "new" technologies to serve clients and providing more integrated and seamless services. However, the true yardstick for differentiation in an emerging banking ecosystem will be not the number of digitised services or banking apps but the value added or enhanced experience for clients. This leads to questions about how banking services should be digitised, what they should consist of in the short- and long-term, and more importantly, what capabilities and technologies banks should focus on to maintain their leading roles in emerging banking ecosystems in the future. With a new generation of'digital native' clients, core banking values and banking preferences will change entirely. According to Deloitte research, already today, 29% of millennials trust global technology firms to provide financial services.

The nature of banking, and business in general, is always in transition. The 4th Industrial Revolution will favor organizations that can leverage data and analytics to improve the consumer experience. A platform business model may be the answer for large and small organizations alike. Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!Many believe we are in the midst of a fourth industrial revolution. The first industrial revolution (18th and 19th centuries) moved us from a prominence of farming to a more industrial existence and the introduction of steam engines.

Together, these led to an effi- ciency- and automation-driven model that made banking more transactional and technology-centric. Banks focused on faster and more convenient transactional services for their end consumers via ATMs, e-cards and telephonic services. Social, mobile, analytics and cloud technologies (the SMAC stack) fueled a second wave of change that is just now taking shape. The role of technology has rapidly changed from a monolithic enabler of efficiency to an engine for personalized and ubiquitous provisioning of banking services for digi- tally connected customers. We now see the emergence of another disruption, known as Digital 2.0, which will leave an altered banking landscape in its wake.

New technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, the Internet of Things, open banking APIs and robotic process automation will rock the banking ecosystem down to its very core, disrupting the way people bank and the manner in which institutions deliver financial services. Over the past several years, digital technologies have changed the once staid banking industry. The collection and advanced analysis of data has changed the way customers are viewed, and the introduction of mobile devices has altered the way consumers access their bank. In short, digital transformation is on the front burner of all banks and credit unions. At a time when most organizations are still playing catch-up, a new wave of digital technology has the potential to change the way organizations deliver banking services even further.

The next wave of digital technologies include artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, the internet of things (IoT), open banking APIs and robotic process automation (RPA). These will impact the banking ecosystem more than any previous transformation, potentially disrupting not only the way people bank, but the organizations that deliver tfinancial services. Over the past several years, digital technologies have changed the once staid banking industry. The collection and advanced analysis of data has changed the way customers are viewed, and the introduction of mobile devices has altered the way consumers access their bank. In short, digital transformation is on the front burner of all banks and credit unions.