As technology infiltrates every aspect of life, KPMG predicts that by 2030 mass market retail banks will be largely invisible to consumers, in a recent report, Meet EVA, the future face of the Invisible Bank. This Invisible Bank will be hidden by a Siri-like e-personal assistant that fulfils daily personal and financial obligations, informed by data gathered from a fully connected way of life. The role of today's banks in such a future remains to be seen, in a worst case scenario they could become relegated to the position of a white labelled product provider.
According to this vision large parts of the traditional bank could disappear. Customer service call centers, branches and sales teams, for large parts of the market could be a thing of the past. The transition will not be easy. The winners will be those that are able to utilize their data; drive down costs; build effective partnerships with a broad range of third parties; and of course, those with robust cyber security.
Christopher Saunders, Partner in the Financial Services Practice at KPMG in Thailand said,
"Banks in Thailand have a critical decision to make. They can either significantly increase spending in technology, research and development in a bid to ensure they can deliver against rapidly evolving demands for innovative products, real time service and a more bespoke customer experience. Or, they can accept disruption and recognize that they may not have the capacity to invest the 10%-20% of revenues per annum in transformative innovation that the global technology companies do".