By 2015, today’s 10 year old will be 18 and, if there are any certainties left, he or she will be in the market for financial services. But what services will be wanted and how they will be provided is likely to change significantly. And even the assumption that customer needs will be met by traditional banks is open to question. Over the next eight years, the retail financial landscape will shift and the role of the front and back offices will shift accordingly.
For both the customer-facing, sales- focused front office and the operational and administrative back office, the core parameters will change as new technologies reshape not only the way we do retail finance but how we think about financial transactions (see also data integration story on page 161). The explosion of high-speed broadband connections from the home and Web 2.0 technologies will create a much more interactive and collaborative environment. US consultancy and research firm Gartner says 75% of banks will use Web 2.0 technologies for retail delivery by 2012. Today’s 10 year olds will demand the latest technologies in 2015, and Web 2.0, the internet and competitive pressures will force retail institutions to transform their operating models.
