Platform as a mandatory path for the banking sector?
Firstly, and for the purposes of this article, we should define what we mean by platform in the context of the banking sector: Platform is the set of products and services that are available online for consumption, in a single, simple interface, with sufficient openness for the integration of new products and services.
The platform aims to simplify the implementation and the experience, which does not mean simplifying the offer, but on the contrary, enriching it. More than that, the importance of simplifying the experience arises precisely from the trend towards a broader and possibly more complex offer. This dynamism in the offer arises from the disruption we see on a daily basis in the financial market, which creates enormous pressure on banks.
The evolution of the market, as well as the surrounding technology, means that the components of the value chain are multiplying: Payment methods, current accounts, savings solutions, reports, notices, bitcoin,... there are countless options for services that are available and that are appearing every day, and which entities have to make coexist in the same environment.
In our opinion, it's important not to give in to the temptation to have everything at the cost of a less fluid experience.
There must be a concern to integrate what is new into the bank's ecosystem, into the user's natural environment. Indeed, behind the scenes there may be hundreds of APIs that connect to specialist suppliers, but on stage there needs to be a coherent and integrated image and experience that doesn't reveal this multiplicity of players.
In the same way, we shouldn't find problems in fitting technological solutions, but rather focus on what our customers' current challenges are and try to overcome them, guaranteeing a subscription, use and deactivation that is as simple as it is pleasant and secure.
In this scenario, connecting new functionalities via APIs, ensuring a consistent experience, allows banks to launch innovative products, to test new solutions, without creating disruption in legacy systems and without interdependencies that compromise the overall functioning of the core whenever a new functionality "comes in" or "goes out".
This whole process can be guaranteed by the integration platform which, while keeping the information silos unchanged, allows the creation of connecting bridges, making the process transversal in a fast, centralized and simplified way and conveying the idea of information uniqueness, a fundamental requirement for responding to today's needs.
