Chapitre 18 Les Fintechs : de la contestabilité à la coopération avec les banques

For a long time, the market for banking and financial services was largely non-contestable due to entry and exit barriers that placed incumbent banks in a dominant position. Changes in the regulatory and technological environment, together with the transformation of consumption patterns among increasingly digitalised customers, have enabled new entrants, FinTech firms, to challenge this market and to compete with banks across all business lines. Their technological superiority and the innovative, customised services they offer have proved attractive to consumers. These features simultaneously act as drivers of market contestability vis-à-vis traditional banking institutions, which suffer from technological lag and customer attrition, and as factors fostering cooperation with banks in an increasingly contestable market. The aim of this chapter is to analyse the determinants of contestability in the banking market and the factors underlying cooperation between banks and FinTech firms.