Fintech thought leaders will be offering their predictions for the year to come — in fact, David Gyori, chief executive of Banking Reports, offers 21. The CEO provides two-day fintech training sessions for bankers, giving lessons on topics such as digital payments and trends in marketing. Bank Innovation examined Gyori’s 21 predictions and highlighted the five most interesting takeaways.

The third generation of fintech

When analyzing the brief history of fintech, Gyori sees three generations in the business. The first wave of companies came before the Great Recession, like PayPal and LendingClub, and the second wave includes all companies established since then. However, the third generation will rise after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Gyori, and will be much more pragmatic and oriented toward short-term profit.

Optichannel vs. omnichannel

The number of channels and business lines banks must handle continues to grow. Although banks would like to reach customers in all channels, Gyori doesn’t see this as a realistic or attainable goal. “A smart bank will consciously, proactively limit the number of channels to five, 10 or 15,” he said. “This will actually reduce the costs while adding to the perceived quality of services.”

Immersive banking

With 5G, augmented reality and virtual reality poised to enter the market, Gyori predicts banks will tap into these new technologies to create more immersive experiences. Alibaba, he points out, is already active in the virtual reality space.

Shift from compliance to cybersecurity

Banks have faced increased regulation since 2008, but the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced a new focus on cybersecurity and risk. According to Gyori, this heightened alertness around cybersecurity will “partially overtake the importance of material financial legal compliance.”

Exobanking

Perhaps one of the more creative takes heading into 2021 is Gyori’s prediction that banking in outer space will become more of a focus. While this will remain theoretical for the near future — for example, the concept of transacting from space or putting a branch on a space station — Gyori believes it’s something we will hear about this year.

“We will start to hear about finance fiction as opposed to science fiction,” Gyori said. “Exobanking will slowly, slowly become a thing. Keep your eyes on it. It will have beautiful theoretical — and even some practical — lessons.”