Is Banking now a Commodity Service?

Retail banking is pretty commoditised and yet in some countries trust in banks is low compared with the disruptive innovators creeping into the payments space. PayPal is a classic example of where the customer buys the payment -yes they pay a fee for using PayPal because they see value in the convenience it affords. So why don't we pay for our banking transactions? 

Totally agree. I am actually surprised at the number of banks still doing business, with no clear differentiators! 

Maybe one way to differentiate for banks could be to charge for transactions. What can they do to get their customers to pay for the transactions?

I think that the low trust for banks is due to their own mistake. Cost savings and improved efficiencies drove all banks to discourage their customers to visit their branches and hence driving banks to become the faceless, heartless corporate machinery. And once that happens, the trust level automatically goes down.

In my opinion, retail banking is in for an overhaul sometime soon in the future.  

Thanks to technology, bank's lined up good number of products on their shelves and somewhere down the line, compromised on human interface.

Clearly, technology channels reaches out to masses quicker and are efficient compared to branch service. I think, looking at technology as an enabler in mass banking and improvised human interface in class banking would be a decent mix of keeping the balance right.

I'd like to think that the current retail banking population is in transitional state and is divided between technology users and pure people relationships.

Not far from now, the future customers could only look at banking as a commodity service.

A couple of statements that I keep remembering from my banking days      " Banking is only mode of payment"  and "Banking is people's business"

Looking at mobile wallets and the increasing absence of human interface in banking, I've started doubting these statements.