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News and resources on retail banking, consumer finance and reinventing customer experience in finance.

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Expert opinions

Raktim Singh

Raktim Singh Senior Industry Principal at Infosys

Autonomous Finance and Embedded AI: Redefining the Future of Financial Services

Discover how autonomous finance and embedded AI are reshaping banking, from lending to risk management, with seamless, real-time experiences. Introduction In the rapidly changing financial landscape of 2025, two interconnected trends are gaining real traction: autonomous finance and embedded AI. Each independently marks a significant shift. Togethe...

/ai /retail

Chris Holmes

Chris Holmes Managing Director at PayTech Consulting

How confident are you in your data? Is your data quietly sabotaging your business?

In the Big Data era, data has become digitised and we now have access to larger data sets. As technology has advanced, we have moved from an age that focused solely on data volume, velocity and variety to one that is now focused on empowerment; the fusion of big data with AI and machine learning has democratised data access and spearheaded the gro...

/payments /retail

Nikunj Gundaniya

Nikunj Gundaniya Product manager at Digipay.guru

Top 7 Challenges Banks Face in Cross-Border Remittances – And How to Fix Them

Cross-border remittances are growing fast; it doesn’t take a genius to say this. In 2024 alone, global remittance flows reached $860 billion, according to the World Bank. That’s a massive number. But here's the catch: most banks still struggle to keep up with user demands. Why? Because the remittance landscape has changed, while many systems hav...

/retail /inclusion

Joris Lochy

Joris Lochy Product Manager at Intix | Co-founder at Capilever

The First Line of Defense: Tackling Scams Before Transactions

In my blog "The Missing Link in Fraud Prevention: Real-Time Customer Dialogue" (https://bankloch.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-missing-link-in-fraud-prevention.html) I argued for moving fraud checks earlier in the payment flow. Rather than waiting until a customer has signed and submitted a payment, banks should interact during the initiatio

/retail /crime Exposing Financial Crime

Alex Kreger

Alex Kreger Founder and CEO at UXDA Financial UX Design

Beyond Features: How Rich Digital UX Can Unlock Banks’ True Market Potential

Traditional banks often find themselves in a challenging position. On one hand, they possess a deep and sophisticated portfolio of financial products and services—ranging from complex credit facilities to wealth management, business banking, and personalized advisory. On the other hand, fintech startups and neobanks have captured mindshare and mar...

/retail /devops Banking Strategy, Digital and Transformation

/retail

Research

Impact Study

Case Management: The key to revolutionising cross-border payments

While the challenges of case management and inefficient E&I processes are not new, the need to address them is more pressing than ever – especially given the G20’s roadmap deadline and the impending global migration to ISO 20022.  In today’s digital era, end-users expect payments to be faster, cheaper and more convenient than ever before – whether domestic or cross-border. As global payment barriers are overcome, banks are tasked not only with meeting customer demands, but business and regulatory ones too.  Enhanced cross-border payments – as supported by the G20’s roadmap and the richer data that ISO 20022 provides – are becoming a real differentiator, with the capability to unlock tremendous value for institutions. However, while a lot of attention is paid to seamless transactions, one area has historically been overlooked: exceptions and investigations (E&I).  This continues to present a significant challenge for both payment providers and corporates, and is impacting numerous networks and technologies. Yet, if harnessed effectively, E&I tools can help institutions significantly reduce costs, speed up processing times, improve transparency and, by extension, satisfy the G20’s targets.  This Finextra impact study, in partnership with Swift, explores:  The advantages of effective E&I processes;  Why solutions are needed to reach the next level; and  How banks can effectively embed them in their infrastructures. 

308 downloads

Impact Study

Reimagining customer journeys: How can banks upscale experience and boost retention?

To stay competitive and better serve their customer base, financial institutions (FIs) must urgently reimagine their customer journeys — from onboarding to the broader lifetime experience — or risk facing a hit to their market share. Technology has significantly transformed the financial services industry, particularly over the last five years. Challenger banks and fintech firms have rapidly gained popularity thanks to their ability to offer fast, simple, digital services. According to data from Plaid, nearly nine out of 10 consumers were using a fintech application in 2023. This percentage will continue to grow.  Financial institutions (FIs) must urgently reimagine their customer journeys or risk facing a hit to their market share. Indeed, today’s customers are more likely than ever to switch primary banking relationships if they do not receive the services they are looking for. Young, digital natives continue to shape this market, with research revealing that 44% of Gen Z customers have changed their primary banking relationship in the last 12 months. The call to competition cannot be ignored.  But how can FIs innovate to meet these demands, while simultaneously running legacy systems? This Finextra impact study, in association with Hyland, explores how financial institutions can:  Reinvent onboarding and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) processes;  Upscale the overall customer journey;  Look to artificial intelligence (AI) for product enhancement and integration; and  Present real-world case studies for each of these objectives. 

340 downloads

Impact Study

NextGen retail banking: A roadmap to successful modernisation

Learn why retail banks must transition to modern, composable, future-ready infrastructures today – and how they can devise journeys that are tailored as well as cost-effective. A significant portion of the retail banking landscape still relies on legacy systems, some of which can be costly and hamper innovation. According to a report from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), 58% of the UK’s financial services firms use legacy infrastructure for some operations, while 33% depend on it for most of their activities. In North America, the picture is similar, with around 40% of US banks still using the Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL) – a coding language dating back to 1959. Some surveys indicate that up to 70% of bank IT budgets are spent on maintaining these legacy systems.   Today, with rapidly evolving consumer demands, technological advancements, stiff competition, and regulatory upheaval, outdated infrastructures are no longer tenable – and risk negatively impacting banks’ efficiency, agility, and customer experiences. So, how can retail banks modernise, while controlling costs and ensuring minimal impact on day-to-day business applications?   This Finextra impact study, produced in association with Oracle, analyses:  The key challenges of legacy banking systems  How to draw up a tailored roadmap for modernisation  How to quantify progress and measure success 

381 downloads

/retail

FinextraTV

How Rip-And-Replace Alternatives Help to Reimagine Banking

Sitting down with FinextraTV, Keith Redding, CRO, Universal Banking, Finastra discussed what it means to Reimagine Banking and why having the right technology is crucial in this new world.  As well as providing real-world examples, Redding describes how the future is more about progressive transformation than 'rip and replace' and how this approach can help banks turn challenges into opportunities.

/retail

Long reads

Stephanie Storry

Stephanie Storry Consultant at PSE Consulting

How will UK BNPL regulation impact merchants?

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) has quickly become a retail staple in the UK. With consumers increasingly seeking flexible payment options, BNPL services have surged in popularity, promising an easy way to split payments into bite-sized chunks. But with this growth comes a growing wave of regulatory attention around rising default levels and consumer pr...

Sehrish Alikhan

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

Solving modern KYC challenges

In today’s digital age, banking is expected to be seamless, frictionless, and to make it plain and simple: easy. However, with a constantly shifting regulatory landscape, increased demand for hyper-personalisation and desire to be digital – financial institutions have obstacles to overcome to keep up with consumer demand. A pain point in the digit...

Scott Hamilton

Scott Hamilton Contributing Editor at Finextra Research

Why do customers and business leaders diverge on client experience views?

Customers aren’t ‘buying’ companies’ improved customer experience (CX) claims or promises, and company leaders aren’t buying the value of spending more to delight the customer. At least not in large percentages on either side of the commerce spectrum, according to a recent global study. When it comes to the leaders of the companies surveyed, respo...