Change is imminent in banking, and as we begin the new year the only debate seems to be what is going to be driving that change. Over the course of 2017, what is going to transform banking the most? Well, we have some ideas.

1. IOT Voice Commerce/Voice Payments Smart Homes/Smart Cars: What’s the Bank’s Role?

Voice will be to screen what screen was to keyboard: a disruptor. And not just in banking. At the Consumer Telematics Show last week, for example, Toyota’s Sandy Lobenstein, VP of connected strategy & product planning, predicted that as voice assistants become more mainstream in cars, in-vehicle voice payments will gain traction as well. And considering the existing lineup of “talking cars” – Nissan and BMW with Cortana, or Hyundai with Google Home, among others – that perspective is not far behind the horizon.

From cars to kitchens: Mastercard and Samsung, as well as Amazon and LG, have jointly developed new additions to their smart fridges, allowing users to order—and pay—for their groceries through voice. The announcement was made last week, at the CES 2017.

Even Vegas hotels are jumping onboard with the voice revolution. So what is a bank to do?

Figure out what voice will mean for banking and fintech. Capital One, for example, has already begun testing applications with both Cortana and Alexa. Other FIs, such as US Bank and USAA, are looking to voice tech as an additional layer of security. Whatever the use cases may be, and whatever the assistant is named, the power of voice in banking won’t be ignored this year.

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