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Top trends in commercial banking: 2021

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In an uncertain year that has called for resilience, traditional commercial banks are shifting towards becoming more intelligent and experiential.

Acting as a primary driver, COVID-19 has re-aligned operational models of banks towards becoming lean and agile. Incumbents continue to leverage open ecosystem while aiming to keep their customers informed, engaged, and satisfied. This analysis outlines the top trends in commercial banking for 2021

The uncertainty of 2020 is setting the global tone for the immediate future in the financial services industry. So, it is no surprise banks are laser-focused on business resilience, emphasizing both financial and operational risks. The need to adapt quickly to new-normal conditions through virtual customer engagement is clear.

Customer centricity continues to drive commercial banks’ solution designs and the pandemic compelled products that deliver immediate client value such as quick digital onboarding, seamless lending, and support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The onus is now on banks to go to market more quickly, which requires the implementation of intelligent processes and integrating corporates’ enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems with banking workflows.

To achieve go-to-market agility, banks around the globe are investing in and collaborating with FinTechs. Many of these partnerships are focused on boosting digital lending and providing seamless support to anxious small-business clients in need of assurance.

With newfound impetus for FinTech collaboration, commercial banks have picked up their step on the path toward OpenX. COVID-19 made it evident that survival during turbulence is manageable through collaboration with ecosystem players.

Read our Top Trends in Commercial Banking 2021 report to explore the strategies banks are adapting to transform their businesses from a product-led, siloed model to an experiential and agile plan.