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

[New Report] Cross-Border Payments as the Next Fintech FrontierFinextra Promoted[New Report] Cross-Border Payments as the Next Fintech Frontier

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Expert opinions

Viacheslav Kostin

Viacheslav Kostin CEO at WislaCode Solutions

Top UX Features Revolutionising Modern Banking Apps

The user experience (UX) in banking applications is a critical factor in transforming everyday financial tasks into intuitive and satisfying experiences. By focusing on streamlined interfaces and customer-centric designs, these apps build lasting confidence and encourage regular use. Incorporating elements such as rapid QR-based transactions and i...

/payments /retail Mobile Financial Services (MFS)

Alex Kreger

Alex Kreger Founder and CEO at UXDA Financial UX Design

Case Study: Designing a Gen AI Conversational Banking App

Over the past decade, messaging apps and AI-powered chats have redefined how we interact with the digital world. What started as a way to stay in touch with friends quickly evolved into a universal interaction model. With the rise of generative AI, this trend has accelerated dramatically. Instead of scrolling through menus or tapping endless button...

/ai /retail Innovation in Financial Services

Ketharaman Swaminathan

Ketharaman Swaminathan Founder and CEO at GTM360 Marketing Solutions

Rising Friction In Banking - Part 2

In Rising Friction In Banking - Part 1, we saw four friction hotspots in customer journeys and applications in banking. In this Part 2, we'll see four more. 5. Account Opening Audit I received a letter from the bank where I hold my Public Provident Fund account. For the uninitiated, in India, PPF is the pension component of social security. When I...

/payments /retail

Luigi Wewege

Luigi Wewege President at Caye International Bank

Digital Integration Over Dollar Dependence: Central America’s Banking Crossroads

For decades, Central America’s financial systems have stood on fragile ground, tethered to the U.S. dollar and reliant on foreign correspondent banks. Every major shock from the debt crises of the 1980s to the 2008 global meltdown and the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the same vulnerabilities: liquidity squeezes, shrinking credit, and instabilit

/retail /predictions Banking Strategy, Digital and Transformation

Viacheslav Kostin

Viacheslav Kostin CEO at WislaCode Solutions

Key Fintech Features Enhancing Banking App Engagement

Mobile banking apps have evolved into powerful platforms that go beyond basic transactions. In today’s competitive financial landscape, banks and fintech firms rely on innovative features to boost user engagement and foster customer loyalty. Tools like personalised rewards, referral programmes, bill-splitting capabilities, and subscription managem...

/payments /retail Online Banking

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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. 

306 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. 

251 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 

373 downloads

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FinextraTV

What Technological Frictions Exist for Clearing Customers?

Providing insights as part of the new Future of Wealth series, Emma Hagan, UK CEO, ClearBank joins FinextraTV at Money 20/20 in Amsterdam to describe the evolution of the clearing industry across the last decade. Explaining how clearing was later to the digital transformation wave, Hagen lists some of the technological frictions that exists for clearing clients and the solutions that are available.

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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...