Technology Convergence is Upon Us

Dan Fisher

With over 35 years in the financial industry, Dan M. Fisher has proven himself as a leader in the financial industry holding roles as the former director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and former Chairman of the ABA Payment Committee.

How convergence will effect the financial industry

All banking will be mobile! All devices will be wireless! All computing will be cloud based! All payments will be real-time! All new accounts will be opened online! All loans will be originated online! Technology is changing at the speed of light!

Alexa will monitor you, and Amazon will buy Apple and Google and will start offering a diaper interface that will tell you when junior needs a change and who changed him last.

Your car will relay your bad driving habits to the police. And it will send in the fine before you get a ticket.

None of this has to do with the recent CES (once known as the Consumer Electronics Show), but everything already mentioned is just a matter of time.

Converging on convergence

So how far could this go?

Here’s a thought: Your driver’s license was suspended, so you buy a driverless car to get to work! Hmm…

General Motors has an autonomous vehicle manufacturing strategy. Question: Can you get a DWI for sitting in an autonomous vehicle drunk? (Can you “Passenge While Intoxicated”?)

From Bolt, the electric car, to PVV, or in other words, my Personal Vehicular Valet!

“Dude … your ride is here!”

Convergence is upon us!

Converging on payment technology too

Soon all payments will be real-time … regardless.

ACH, check, and wire transfer were previously limited by technology, timing, and cost. Today, with the Internet of Things no limitation exists. Real-time is now just a matter of enablement and access.

Is your bank prepared and expecting to purchase a real-time-capable system?

If your next system upgrade does not include this, you have just purchased a virtual boat anchor!

Self-serve was formerly perceived as a downgrade from Full Service. Today, the impatient and busy consumer would prefer to order online than stand in line. They have better things to do, frankly. If your institution is not fully engaged with the internet, then web surfing consumers and small businesses are oblivious to your existence.

Remember, financial services have morphed into “on-demand” services. If you are not online in a meaningful way, then you have fully resigned your organization to diminish and fail.

And then there are other questions…

• Do you still offer paper statements as a standard?
• Do you require face-to-face contact to prove that an applicant is a real person before you open an account?
• Do you require that a customer be a customer for a year or more before you will activate mobile capture on their smartphone?

In order to remain relevant to consumers and businesses you need to deal with change, accept it, and get on with it.

Let’s face it, the Internet of Things is running at the speed of life!

(Great phrase, but I did not come up with it.)

Banking all the time…

The reality is that all things internet will sooner than later enable all things.

Yes, Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world. He used to be behind Bill Gates then … BAM! Smartphones made it happen!

Jeff is ready for prime time! Is your bank ready?

Question: What is the opposite of convergence?

Failure to adapt will result in the same calamity that befell the dinosaur!

—The Wombat!

Dan Fisher

With over 35 years in the financial industry, Dan M. Fisher has proven himself as a leader in the financial industry holding roles as the former director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and former Chairman of the ABA Payment Committee.