Financial Services Sector Expanding Rapidly But There Will Be Growing Pains

SIS International says the outlook for the financial services sector is one of solid and consistent growth, expected to reach $47.55 trillion in 2029, but it is not without anxieties.  They shared that around three-quarters of financial services executives on a recent survey expressed concerns over their institutions’ ability to navigate economic instability, adapt to emerging technologies and shifting regulations, as well as sustain existing revenue sources in the coming decade.  

SIS points to five key trends where financial institutions could focus their research priorities at as the financial services landscape continues to develop and change:

• AI implementation: Despite high technology adoption rates, a good majority of banking customers struggle to trust AI applications.  
• Digital Banks: More and more customers are switching to neobanks.  Learning the reasons behind this growing preference would help traditional financial organizations reposition themselves while digital banks would benefit from these insights through sustainable growth and expansion.  
• Mobile Banking: Digital channels have established themselves as the primary form of interaction between customers and their banks, and fostering engagement and a more personalized experience through research could lead to improved loyalty.  
• Expanding Financial Services Options: Delving into growing technology-oriented fronts open up exploring new and additional avenues to offer financial services digitally.  
• Addressing Security Concerns: Adopting security measures against fraud and privacy is just the start but targeted research would help recognize which protections build confidence and trust based on the concerns expressed by different customer segments.  

High-quality market research would help financial institutions understand what would cause their customers to hesitate or quickly adapt to new technology or measures, the most effective way to communicate benefits and advantages, targeting the most receptive customer segment, and identifying new opportunities and channels, just to name a few.  

Overall, effective market research into these five key insights should enable financial organizations to make confident and strategic decisions aligned with business goals.  

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