Difference and Differentiation: What next for investment platforms? - Paper - Page 17
Nicola Flannigan:
Kids today…
Do I think platforms will still be around 20 years from now? Yes, I do!
Do they need a tremendous amount of forward thinking and innovation
to ensure they remain fit for purpose? Absolutely!
When I think about the next 20 years, I automatically
think about my daughter; she is just turning 7. As a
parent, I always reflect on the behaviours and actions
that can be impressionable to her, and it was a few
months ago that I realised something, following a
mother-daughter shopping day.
I grew up in a household where ‘cash was king.’ My
parents and grandparents always paid in cash, and at
a push, cheques were used to pay bills or for birthday
presents. These behaviours instilled a belief in me
that this was the best way to transact. It wasn’t until
I started showing an interest in the subject, and
opened a bank account at 13, that I concluded cash
wasn’t necessarily king after all.
Nowadays my life is very much cash-free. During
our shopping trip, my daughter watched me make
purchases on both my watch and my phone; she rarely
sees a debit or credit card day-to-day, let alone cash
payments. Transactions are quick, easy, no pin is
required, and I do it with the flick of my wrist!
My actions and behaviours have installed a trust in
technology-enabled payments within my daughter and
she expects nothing else now and looks at me weirdly
should I pay by cash.
Her experiences now mean that her expectations
in 20 years’ time will be for a very fast (she has no
patience!) easy, convenient way to transact, with the
ability to be more trusting than I, or my parents, ever
were of technology-based transactions and advice.
She really is the next generation, and where the vision
of Financial Services should be focussed.
My thoughts instinctively then turn to ‘brand.’ Many
of the current product and platform providers market
their longevity, nostalgia, and history as a reason for
customers to transact with them. My opinion is that
this will no longer appeal to the next generation within
the next few years. A brand’s success is no longer
measured by its length of time within the market or
consumer awareness. Success is now determined
by an individual’s research into the offering of the
product and the return on their time and investment.
As a population, we are much less risk averse when
it comes to technology than 20 years ago. We have
a trust in the tech and a regulator that means we are
more trusting of new and innovative products and
providers, and I do not see that regressing. Within
Financial Services I believe that companies need to
consider this carefully and move with the times; really
exploring what is important to its customer base
and how it can appeal to them. Standing behind the
notion ‘we are 100 years old’, now feels dated and
doesn’t provide the assurance that it once did.
Platform and product providers in the next 20 years
will really need to innovate and consider accessibility,
simplicity, with comprehensive instantaneous data
for a customer to view their position in all products
instantaneously.
Total number of contactless
transactions4
8.6 bn
13.1 bn
9.6 bn
2019
2020
2021
Figure 10: Total number of contactless transactions
4
https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/press/press-releases/average-contactless-payment-increases-almost-30-cent-new%25C2%25A3100-limit-was-introduced
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