Can mid-sized banks thrive in the digital world, and are they FinTech’s new best friend?

The banking industry is changing, and the drivers of its change are very strong: new regulations aimed at eliminating borders and forcing banks to be more open, profound changes in customer behaviour and expectations and also computing technology, in general, have suffered astronomical upgrades. These elements have created a perfect storm for the banking industry, which will, as a result, be remodelled and transformed. Banks must adapt, and this is understood by all of them, but probably banks ignore how much they must change if they want to feature in the future of banking. This paper aims to identify the major transformational pillars of the new era of banking, explaining that mid- and small-sized banks have a chance to be part of that future. A view of the likely changes ahead reveals that change will be so profound that larger banks may take longer to adapt. Also, and probably more importantly, ‘digital’ helps to create a level playing field in which smaller banks even play with an advantage. Change, however, must be taken seriously and courageously as otherwise those banks that do not adapt will inevitably fade away and disappear.