Jointly positioning banking for the future

Open banking describes a system that enables the exchange of financial data between users and third-party providers through the use of APIs. Regulatory and yet innovative milestones here are the European Union's Payment Service Directive 2 (PSD2) from 2018 and the announced FIDA regulation, which the European Commission is currently working on. The new regulations on the exchange of financial data will also create new business models for banks in the areas of embedded finance and platform banking. Among other things, platform banking refers to the integration of banking services into the platforms of companies in the service sector.

Generative AI has been on everyone's lips since the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT and Dall-E. Generative AI is a system based on artificial intelligence that can generate new content such as text, images or code from existing data according to instructions. In banking, there are a variety of applications, all of which are based on a digital core banking landscape. Among other things, AI can support capital market research through intelligent document analysis, intelligent chatbots also improve customer service and fraud detection is significantly more efficient through the analysis of key performance indicators. All in all, this clearly improves process efficiency. It is now important for banks to define a strategy for implementing AI in order to generate decisive competitive advantages in the future. The basis of the AI strategy should always be a comprehensive modernization of the banks' core infrastructure with cloud solutions. The planned EU regulation on artificial intelligence can provide a clear framework for this.

Sustainable banking aims to develop sustainable and inclusive financial solutions. Banks are therefore increasingly taking ESG factors (environmental, social and governance) into account in their decisions as part of the EU taxonomy. This approach makes it possible to assume ecological and social responsibility and at the same time be economically successful in the long term. By integrating ESG criteria, banks can not only strengthen their reputation, but also gain the trust of customers and open up new business opportunities. At the same time, regulatory requirements are increasingly demanding reporting from banks.

Banking associations and governments are taking the first steps towards introducing digital currencies in order to improve the efficiency of payment transactions. Examples of this include the ECB's initiative for the digital euro as the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and the European Payment Initiative (EPI). Token-based trading ("Initial Coin Offering") can also save money and time and promote transparency and flexibility. These developments show the potential of digital currencies to revolutionize traditional financial systems and facilitate global trade.