The financial ecosystem is a network of interlinked financial and other companies. Whether the bank is the orchestrator of the ecosystem or simply has the role of a participant in a third-party ecosystem, both roles represent the presence of a financial institution in the ecosystem world. Banks may now cooperate with partners across the industry spectrum. 

“The way people shop and interact online is changing and banks must reinvent their relationship with the client and induce a new way of thinking. They are also more willing to share their data across ecosystems if they know they will receive better advice in exchange. Ecosystems are vital to becoming a living business quickly and adapting to customer needs,” says Karel Kotoun, Accenture Czech Republic. Therefore, extending the range of products to meet customer needs and growing expectations is important. Ecosystems can promote data sharing and enable better personalization capabilities to enhance customer relationships and retention.

The bank may take on several different roles in an ecosystem environment. The two key factors to consider are the role of the bank in terms of orchestration or participation in a third-party ecosystem and the areas of cooperation that can span throughout many sectors from retail to business services. 

Five specific use cases in which a bank can enter the world of ecosystems and which are most suitable for a bank on the Czech market. 

• A suitable proposition is for the bank to become an ecosystem orchestrator building an ecosystem around specific life-moments such as buying a house. It is a clearly defined role-playing an important part in the lives of clients building loyalty when the whole process goes smoothly. 

“Example is Danske Bank that offers a digital housing tool showing homes one can afford, how will purchase affect financial situation (online system, customer data, and house market listings, estimation of costs, financial advice, catalog of realtors). Komerční banka has introduced cincink.cz within its ecosystem on the Czech market, which allows users to search for a real estate property,” Karel Kotoun form Accenture adds.

• Another role the bank might undertake leads us into the sector of business services. In this use case, the bank should orchestrate a marketplace for business services primarily serving startups and SME’s offering services outside banking to often struggling companies. The bank has the potential to build a one-stop-shop bringing legal, accounting, and marketing services to its clients.

mBank offers mPower Business Starter and accounting to small businesses. Komerční banka offers Board by BudgetBakers which allows financial managers to control the finances of their companies and Fakturoid which is an invoicing tool for SME’s. Česká spořitelna offers ediFactoring

• Option number three is represented by so-called Super Apps that can be found on the Asia Pacific market and it is only a matter of time before these applications start to emerge on the European market. With a rising number of applications that users use daily, being able to find everything in one place is a rising desire of consumers. Using one app for online shopping, buying a plane ticket, paying your bills, or ordering food is the future.

Chinese AliPay allows users to do anything from making payments and managing their finance to choosing an insurance scheme, hailing a cab, or ordering food online. Rakuten (Japan) is originally an e-commerce company that has now turned into the largest internet bank in Japan. Within the Super App, customers are able to shop online, do their banking, use a travel portal, book tickets for entertainment, communicate with friends and family, and even use a video streaming service.

• The last use case where the bank serves as an ecosystem orchestrator requires the bank to orchestrate an ecosystem marketplace for retail goods. The bank offers its clients access to specific goods. For many, this is still quite unimaginable but there are proven examples of success to be found around the world.

BBVA offers the retail ecosystem “De Compras” – a portal marketplace offering its customers non-banking products from multiple wholesalers such as house appliances, travels, mobile phones, and cars

• The bank participates in a third-party ecosystem offering its products primarily to third-party clients. We can imagine this as the bank offering consumer loans on the constantly growing fashion & beauty e-commerce market via websites of major fashion retailers.

Hello Bank! offers consumer loans through a major online retailer’s platform (one of the largest Czech e-shops Alza) 

Banks must ride the wave of innovation and concentrate on changing consumer habits whilst withstanding regulatory pressure. Consumers are constantly looking for new integrated propositions and fully personalized omnichannel offerings. Financial ecosystems are a chance to reinvent their relationship with the client and induce a new way of thinking.

About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services in strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operations, with digital capabilities across all of these services. We combine unmatched experience and specialized capabilities across more than 40 industries — powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. With 513,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture brings continuous innovation to help clients improve their performance and create lasting value across their enterprises. Visit us at www.accenture.com.