European Banking Sector In The Era Of Digitalization. Innovation And Upcoming Scenarios

European banking sector has a long history and has developed gradually with society. First representations of banking in European area are mentioned in ancient Greece and territory of the Roman Empire. To some extend this may be linked to the cultural and civilization level and to economic exchanges with other regions of the world. Furthermore, in these geographical boundaries are present indications of people that performed the role of bankers (European Investment Bank, 2000). After the fall of the Roman Empire, the banking activity entered in a period of downfall, witnessing rebirth of specific elements during the Early Middle Ages. Gradually it started to develop again, with the commerce done by Sweden and Italian cities, like Genoa and Venice. Italian towns developed trade activities with Byzantium, Egypt, North Africa and Asia Minor (European Investment Bank, 2000). Later, advances are registered with the medieval banking families in Italian cities, such is Medici in Florence (Karan et al., 2024) and German banking houses. Another significant moment is noticed during the extension of financial activity in Amsterdam, this having the role of first large securities exchange (Karan et al., 2024). European banking continued to develop in different modalities, specific to the political, economic and social realities. For example, towards the nineteenth century there were different approaches regarding the metal used for the coins in circulation, such is the case of gold for England and silver in German states, Austrian and Russian Empires and Scandinavia (European Investment Bank, 2000). Acceptance in the use of banknotes on a large scale took a lot of time, being strictly linked to the confidence level of the people and the concentration of issuing under central banking authority. In the last decades, innovation, technology and digitalization started to shape new realities inside the banking sector. This paper will analyze the impact of digitalization inside European market, how it has started, where it has arrived and how it could develop further.