We don’t need banks, we need banking

Author Mru Patel, CEO & Partner Flashmoni.com

Disruption and the current climate in the banking industry

Over the last 20 years, I’ve witnessed and created disruption through technology and innovation in various fields, knowing that change leads to progress. I’ve been a disruptor starting from the pre dot com and the dot com days, during and post the real estate booms and busts. I also witnessed the world crisis that followed, as an entrepreneur that made and lost tens of millions. Therefore, having experienced innovation that brought changes on a major scale, I can assure you that blockchain and cryptocurrency are the next big disruptors in important sectors such as banking, finances, real estate, government, healthcare, supply chain and many other domains that have a real impact on our day to day lives.

Gone are the days when we keep our savings in the bank. Nowadays, we can’t live without banking, but we can live without banks. It’s rare that people actually visit bank branches. Blockchain and cryptocurrency are here to make this possible and they are here to stay. A lot of use cases are proving that there is benefit by incorporating technology into banking and there is a lot more coming ahead. Banks need to simplify their complicated, time consuming, expensive fees, processes and blockchain is the answer to that. Why having a card when the smartphone can be your card? Why wasting time filling out forms and waiting in line at bank branches when you can send money in a second through your phone? In this day and age, every second matters and disruptors are here to simplify banking for everybody.

What is Blockchain Technology?

We all use internet but nobody is really interested in how it actually works. The same happens with blockchain. What people focus on is the result, not the technology itself. But what is blockchain? For sure is an unquestionably ingenious invention that has evolved and transformed into something greater than the initial use. Blockchain is a digital ledger that allows information to be distributed but not copied, which makes it very safe. The digital ledger can record virtually everything of value in a fully automated and secure way. To make it simple, let’s see it as a way of transmitting information from A to B. The process is initiated by creating a block verified by numerous computers and added to a chain. This way, it creates a unique record, with a unique history. It is stored across the net and it cannot be falsified, due to the fact that it would mean falsifying the entire chain, which is physically impossible. It started as the technology behind the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, but there are several other uses for the distributed ledger and banking is one of the fields that benefits from it.

Using omnichannel banking is the way forward

You don’t want to know how your internet works at the back, you don’t want to know how a banking system works at the bank or what they do. For that, I say “you don’t need banks, you just need banking as a service”. Based on this, technology providers should make banking apps as good, as simple and, as easy to use. The three key things people should focus on are the user experience, the user interface and the simplicity of using a banking app. So whether you do it through a smartphone, messenger, card or chat, the customer should have a simple banking experience via any channel or device.

The essential value of an omnichannel digital banking and wealth management platform is that it brings technology and business together. Customers’ expectations of digital banking are higher and higher, and the apps are customised to the unique needs of the clients. They can see their complete financial situation without logging in to different accounts, as the app has the ability to display the balance of multiple accounts. They can manage any kind of transaction without logging in with different PIN or OTP, with the advent of the PSD2 banking implementation laws for APIs. Customers can create their personal financial management, as they can easily monitor all their accounts, checking their savings, spending, debit and credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, and also transaction details like ATM withdrawals, debit card purchases, direct deposits and any other completed or pending transactions.

Your smartphone is your bank

Through omnichannel banking, you can save precious time doing a transaction using the phone rather than go to the bank branch. All-in-one smart banking with all-in-one smart cards are the future. No more filling out tons of papers or login on one website to do one transaction then go to another website if you need to do another transaction. Who has time or memory to remember all these multiple logins and passwords that you can’t even write down for security reasons? Most of the big, solid technology players are already involved in the blockchain and crypto space and they know that they can survive only by keeping up with the technology innovations. Technology is now at the core of all businesses.

At Flashmoni, we are developing such a platform, which now is absolutely exciting. We know that in this day and age we all own a smartphone, so why not make it your all-in-one smartbank? The omnichannel banking is the way forward, so stay in the loop for more info about banking without banks.