Swiss Private Banking Faces a New Reality
There is an established history of private banking in Switzerland. The first private banks were created as partnerships in St Gallen in the mid-18th century, and in Geneva in the late 18th century. These blue chip organisations have grown into highly successful banks, by serving high-net-worth individuals.
As historic organisations, the way in which these banks serve customers has always been very traditional; featuring many manual processes. These legacy processes have therefore made adapting to the wave of digital innovation a challenge, as the pace of adoption in Swiss financial services accelerates. Just 2% of the most innovative companies in the world are banks, and none of those are wealth management specialists – this highlights a need to identify how digital solutions can change the way private banks operate.
As innovations like Open Banking, and next-generation mobile technology like 5G, gain ground, Swiss private banks now have the opportunity to look at how they can adapt. Agile and fast-moving FinTech start-ups have already established a new era for the payments industry, leveraging new technology to offer customers more secure and streamlined services, that meet their needs and expectations. The adoption of digital transformation in the private banking sector will enable companies to cater to a new generation of customers. In this article, we’ll discuss why digital evolution is the only way to win these consumers over.
A new generation of consumers
The challenge of adapting in a digitally driven world is hampering the way banks compete now but could also impact them in the future. Digital transformation has forged new customer behaviors around managing money, and in turn has altered their relationship with banks. With a click of a button on their smartphones, customers view and manage their money instantly. In years gone by this was very different, investors expected manual processes when dealing with their bank. However, now customers are more willing to embrace technology to interact - as this gives them a more personalised experience, saves time, increases control and provides flexibility.
This shift in customer behavior will continue. A new generation of consumers will expect private banks to provide the same next-generation financial services they’ve grown accustomed to. This includes app integration, straightforward connectivity and visibility of all their transactions and financial activity. With this in mind, private banks are now at a point in time where adoption is key, and companies like Equinix can enable change and innovation in the sector. This perfect storm makes it crucial that they harness digital transformation to support the delivery of the progressive financial services and connectivity that consumers crave.
Making the leap: an important opportunity
Overcoming this apprehension of digital transformation and adopting cutting-edge technology can be daunting for banks. But the end-results make this challenge completely worthwhile and can enable them to propel the sector into the future, attracting the next-generation of investors.
Millennial wealth is forecasted to reach $24 trillion (CHF23 trillion) this year, so the opportunity for private banks to embrace innovation - to meet the shifting needs of the market - is huge. However, for a private bank to seize this opportunity, and make a complete success of digital transformation, they must shift their culture to one that celebrates innovation. We are here to help them make that journey.
Partnering with Equinix can enable private banks to directly and securely connect distributed infrastructure and digital ecosystems on the world's largest platform of interconnected data centers and business ecosystems. Leveraging our platform enables private banks the chance to discover and reach digitally-savvy customers with their offerings, on demand, anywhere in the world.
Foundations for the future
Digital evolution, to capture the next generation of banking customers, is crucial for private banks to compete effectively. Equinix and our suite of solutions can support banks in putting the foundations in place to make digital transformation a complete success.
Our global interconnection platform is enabling wealth management firms to take advantage of emerging opportunities while still providing a client-centric approach that customers expect.
Learn more about this with our Wealth Management – Digital Edge Playbook
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