Future Bank … Strategic options for the future of banking, beyond the myopic obsession with fintech … inspired by DBS and ING, Nubank and Revolut, Apple and Chime, Jio and N26

July 3, 2025

Banking is one of the world’s oldest industries — and one of its most disrupted. For centuries, the strategic model was remarkably stable: hold deposits, lend prudently, earn the spread, and scale through physical branches.

Today, that architecture is fracturing. Finance is becoming embedded, invisible, and orchestrated through platforms. Trust no longer comes from marble columns but from digital reliability. And value is shifting from balance sheets to data, networks, and experiences.

The winners of tomorrow’s banking industry will not be defined by who has the biggest branch network, or even who has the best mobile app.

They will be those who pick the right strategic opportunity — the model that aligns with shifting customer behaviours, technological leverage, and regulatory space — and execute it with relentless focus.

We explore the strategic choices for the future of banking, the alternative models that are emerging, and how innovators are already showing what is possible.

Change drivers

Four fundamental forces are reshaping banking strategy:

  • Customer expectations — Finance is no longer the destination; it is a means to an end. Customers want frictionless payments in shops, instant loans in apps, personalised nudges for savings. The bank must be present in context, not demand attention as a separate chore.
  • Technology and data — Cloud, AI, APIs and tokenisation turn banking capabilities into modular, composable services. What used to require a branch and a vault can now be offered in milliseconds, embedded in any journey.
  • Platformisation of the economy — Commerce, media, transport, and healthcare are being reorganised around platforms. If finance is not embedded in those platforms, it risks irrelevance.
  • Regulation and trust — Compliance is no longer a defensive cost; it is a strategic differentiator. The institutions that can balance openness with safety, and innovation with resilience, will be the ones regulators and customers trust most.

These forces do not dictate one inevitable outcome; rather, they open strategic options.

Strategic options for the future of banking

There will not be one model of the future bank, but several. Each represents a different way of unlocking value from connections, assets, and technology.

Option 1: The Invisible Bank

  • Finance becomes invisible, embedded in other experiences.
  • Customers do not log into a banking app; they simply “pay,” “borrow,” or “save” inside whatever ecosystem they are in.
  • The bank’s role is to provide regulated infrastructure, APIs, and data services behind the scenes.

Examples:

  • Alipay in China, where payments, loyalty, and commerce are blended so tightly that finance is inseparable from daily life.
  • Jio in India, embedding payments and microloans into telecom and retail ecosystems, reaching millions of first-time users.

Strategic opportunity: Banks that own rails and compliance at scale can productise them for others. The challenge: you may become invisible, but still critical — commoditised unless you build distinctive strengths in reliability, data, or trust.

Option 2: The Ecosystem Bank

  • Instead of embedding into others’ platforms, the bank becomes the orchestrator of an ecosystem.
  • It builds a “super-app” or partner platform where customers manage multiple aspects of their lives — travel, insurance, investing, payments, shopping.

Examples:

  • Revolut, bundling FX, trading, insurance, and lifestyle into a financial super-app.
  • DBS, building ecosystem plays in property, car ownership, and SMEs — extending banking into adjacent customer journeys.

Strategic opportunity: Be the hub where others plug in. The challenge: coherence — too many services without a unifying value proposition creates clutter rather than loyalty.

Option 3: The Data-Driven Bank

  • The bank’s edge is data mastery: using AI and behavioural insights to personalise, underwrite, and guide customers.
  • Every interaction improves the model; every product is dynamically priced, personalised, and contextualised.

Examples:

  • Nubank, using engagement data to expand from a simple card into credit, savings, and investment services.
  • JPMorgan Chase, investing billions in proprietary AI platforms to power both internal efficiency and external productisation.

Strategic opportunity: Data enables better margins, lower risk, and new advisory services. The challenge: regulation, privacy, and ethics — crossing the line can destroy trust.

Option 4: The Platform-as-a-Service Bank

  • The bank stops competing for end customers and instead sells its infrastructure as a service to others.
  • This is the Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) or SaaS play.

Examples:

  • Starling Bank, productising its cloud-native core (“Engine”) and selling it to other banks and fintechs.
  • ING, experimenting with modular services others can plug into.

Strategic opportunity: Scale distribution without customer acquisition cost. The challenge: balancing partner success with brand visibility — you may be critical but invisible.

Option 5: The Trusted Relationship Bank

  • A contrarian play: double down on trust, advice, and human connection.
  • Focus less on volume of digital transactions and more on high-value, complex decisions — wealth, retirement, SME growth, family protection.
  • The model is membership, loyalty, and relationship-driven.

Examples:

  • Chase, leveraging its massive U.S. distribution and brand trust to build loyalty ecosystems (e.g., Chase Sapphire’s lifestyle memberships).
  • Apple Card, which isn’t the cheapest card but creates loyalty through seamless UX, brand affinity, and integration into the Apple ecosystem.

Strategic opportunity: In a world of invisible finance, the trusted human relationship may itself become a premium product. The challenge: scaling intimacy without scaling costs.

Business model shifts required

Choosing a strategic option is not enough. Each requires a shift in business model:

  • Products → Platforms: Instead of selling loans, sell credit access via APIs; instead of selling payments, provide rails others embed.
  • Transactions → Relationships: Loyalty, subscriptions, memberships — the value is in continuity, not one-off deals.
  • Ownership → Orchestration: You don’t have to own the product (insurance, FX, mortgages) if you can orchestrate partners who provide them.
  • Balance sheet → Data + Ecosystem: Returns will increasingly come from monetising insights, distribution, and orchestration, not just spread.

Banking innovators

DBS Bank: Asia’s digital transformer

Context and Challenge: DBS, headquartered in Singapore, faced an increasingly digital-savvy population demanding real-time services and mobile-first experiences.

Strategic Response: DBS embarked on a multi-year digital transformation, blending cloud infrastructure, AI, and advanced data analytics with a focus on cultural change within the organization.

Key Initiatives:

  • AI-Powered Personalization: DBS leverages AI to analyze millions of customer interactions across digital channels, tailoring offers and advice for banking, investment, and lifestyle products.
  • Paperless Branches: Through digital documentation and e-KYC (Know Your Customer), DBS reduced branch dependency while maintaining high service standards.
  • Developer Ecosystem: Open APIs allow fintech partners to integrate with DBS services, creating a vibrant ecosystem.

Impact:

  • DBS’s mobile app adoption exceeded 80% of its customer base, with transaction volumes growing faster than traditional channels.
  • The bank has consistently been ranked the “World’s Best Digital Bank,” reflecting both customer experience and operational efficiency.

Strategic Insight: DBS demonstrates how integrating technology, culture, and ecosystem thinking can turn a traditional bank into a digital-first, platform-oriented organization.

ING: data-driven innovation in Europe

  • Context and Challenge: ING, a Dutch multinational, sought to differentiate in competitive European markets while responding to regulatory pressures and the rise of fintechs.
  • Strategic Response: ING embraced predictive analytics, AI-driven insights, and agile methodologies to improve customer engagement and operational efficiency.

Key Initiatives:

  • AI for Credit and Risk Assessment: Using machine learning models to assess SME and retail credit, enabling faster and more accurate decisions.
  • Agile Product Development: Digital teams iteratively deliver new features for mobile banking, ensuring rapid customer feedback loops.
  • Sustainability-Focused Products: ING uses AI to help clients understand ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) impact in investment portfolios.

Impact:

  • Reduced loan approval times by up to 50%, increasing SME satisfaction and adoption.
  • Enhanced cross-selling effectiveness through predictive personalization.

Strategic Insight: ING illustrates how data-driven operations and agile development can transform both customer experience and risk management, balancing growth with regulatory compliance.

Ping An: The Chinese super-app bank

  • Context and Challenge: Ping An operates in China, one of the world’s most digitally advanced financial markets. Facing competition from tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent, Ping An needed to position itself as both a bank and a lifestyle platform.
  • Strategic Response: Ping An became a financial super-app, integrating insurance, banking, health, and investment services into a single ecosystem.

Key Initiatives:

  • AI and Big Data: Real-time credit scoring, fraud detection, and personalized insurance recommendations.
  • Health + Finance Integration: AI-powered telemedicine and wellness monitoring linked to insurance products.
  • Open APIs for Partners: Ping An integrates external services, expanding ecosystem reach.

Impact:

  • Over 200 million active users engage with Ping An’s ecosystem monthly.
  • Cross-selling and ecosystem stickiness have significantly increased revenue per customer.

Strategic Insight: Ping An shows the potential of ecosystem banking, where AI and data create a seamless, sticky, and holistic customer experience.

N26: Disruptive digital banking

  • Context and Challenge: N26, a German fintech challenger, aimed to capture digitally-native millennials across Europe by offering a fully mobile-first banking experience.
  • Strategic Response: N26 eliminated traditional branch networks, leveraging cloud banking, AI, and real-time analytics to deliver a simple, fast, and transparent service.

Key Initiatives:

  • Real-Time Insights: AI-powered notifications and analytics help users track spending, save, and manage subscriptions.
  • Seamless Onboarding: Digital KYC and instant account opening remove friction.
  • Marketplace Integration: Partnerships with fintechs provide insurance, investment, and travel services in-app.

Impact:

  • Rapid growth to millions of European customers, with high app engagement and retention.
  • Significant reduction in operational costs compared to traditional banks.

Strategic Insight: N26 demonstrates how digital-native design, AI-driven personalization, and platform thinking can disrupt traditional banking, particularly for younger demographics.

Revolut: Banking as a lifestyle platform

  • Context and Challenge: Revolut entered the UK market as a fintech challenger offering low-cost international payments and currency exchange, targeting travelers and young professionals.
  • Strategic Response: Revolut expanded beyond payments into a full-service banking and lifestyle app, leveraging AI for both operational efficiency and customer engagement.

Key Initiatives:

  • Personal Finance Insights: AI analyzes spending patterns, offering budgeting advice and financial recommendations.
  • Embedded Wealth Products: Users can invest in stocks, crypto, and commodities directly from the app.
  • Cross-Border Payments: AI optimizes currency conversions and fraud detection.

Impact:

  • Revolut now serves over 25 million customers globally.
  • Strong engagement metrics and high digital adoption have allowed rapid monetization via premium subscriptions and transaction fees.

Strategic Insight: Revolut exemplifies embedded finance and lifestyle banking, where data and AI convert transactional banking into a daily, value-added platform.

Chime: US neobank with social focus

  • Context and Challenge: Chime aimed to reach underserved US customers with simple, fee-free banking, while delivering transparency and financial wellness.
  • Strategic Response: Chime’s digital-first approach uses AI to automate budgeting, savings, and alerts, making banking proactive rather than reactive.

Key Initiatives:

  • Automated Savings: AI rounds up transactions and predicts optimal savings amounts.
  • Fraud Prevention: Machine learning detects anomalies and prevents unauthorized activity in real time.
  • Engagement via Notifications: Personalized alerts encourage financial responsibility and retention.

Impact:

  • Millions of US customers signed up rapidly, particularly younger users.
  • High engagement and strong loyalty metrics have enabled Chime to compete with established US banks.

Strategic Insight: Chime shows how simplicity, transparency, and proactive AI-driven insights can build trust and loyalty in highly competitive markets.

Engaging the future customer 

If finance is becoming invisible, how do you create loyalty? The future of customer engagement in banking rests on four levers:

  • Membership and community — Treat customers as members, with benefits, status, and belonging (Chase Sapphire, Revolut Metal).
  • Lifecycle integration — Support not just transactions but whole life stages: starting a business, buying a home, raising a family.
  • Experiential value — Finance embedded in music, travel, shopping — not as cost but as enabler (Apple Wallet, DBS travel services).
  • Data-driven nudges — Personalised, proactive guidance that helps customers make better decisions without friction.

Choosing your future

The future of banking is not predetermined by technology. AI, cloud and APIs are enablers, not strategies. The real question for every institution is: Which opportunity will you pursue?

  • Will you be the invisible enabler, powering ecosystems from the back?
  • The ecosystem orchestrator, building a super-app of your own?
  • The data-driven guide, personalising every interaction?
  • The platform provider, selling your stack to others?
  • Or the trusted relationship bank, creating intimacy and loyalty in a commoditised world?

The future winners will be those who make a deliberate choice, align their business model and culture to it, and execute relentlessly. Banking’s next era is less about banks and more about connections — but it is strategy, not technology alone, that will decide who thrives.

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