How would you explain today’s banking landscape to an 80-year-old?

Recently, I have been attending a lot of webinars and reading many posts about change, new technologies, and company strategies aiming to revolutionise the banking and financial services industries.

This made me think about how the time when I opened my first “grown-up” bank account back in the year 2000.

At that time Bulgaria was modernising its processes and the old communist way of getting your salary cash-in-hand was no longer used so everyone needed to have a bank account. There were the fancy new banks like Raiffeisen or United Bulgarian Bank which, if memory serves me correctly, at the time was owned by a Greek banking group.

The problem was that every time you changed your job, you also needed to change your bank if your employer didn’t use the same one so you ended up with a few accounts that you don’t use.

Doing anything banking-related took ages, you needed to go to a branch, fill in about 3 forests' worth of paper forms and wait for days for things to happen.

Today, new technologies such as generative AI, blockchain, and digital currency are transforming the banking landscape beyond recognition. They are also completely reshaping the way financial institutions operate and interact with customers.

Because of digital banking platforms, we now have unparalleled access to financial services anytime, anywhere. Mobile apps, online banking portals, and virtual assistants are a normal part of our everyday life and how we interact with our banks. They offer us convenience and efficiency like we’ve never experienced before.

Technologies like big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning allow our banks to offer services that meet OUR unique needs and preferences. To drive and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, the banks of today have personalised product recommendations, or marketing campaigns designed for different types of consumers.

Today, cross-border transactions can happen in minutes not weeks or days and costing us pennies rather than a significant chunk of money. Blockchain technology is making the movement of funds between countries much more transparent than ever before. Decentralised finance is also gaining popularity making the financial ecosystem much more interconnected.

The world has come a long way since I first had my “grown-up” bank account. There is no doubt that the future of banking is interconnected with innovation. Embracing new technologies and reimagining traditional processes, will unlock endless possibilities and provide us with products and services we’ve never imagined possible.

What is the biggest change in banking you’ve experienced?