A tale of two bankers

I generally meet two types of bankers.

The first is a technology sceptic.

Their thinking goes something like:

There are many fads
and fashions in banking and technology.

A few years ago,
everyone talked about cloud.

Then they’re all
talking about mobile and apps.

Now they’re yaddering
on about Big Data and stuff.

Of course, none of it
really matters.

It just goes on, over
the head, noise and waffle.

Y’see the most important
thing in banking is being a bank.

It’s about sound
advice, supporting customer’s financial needs, assisting them in their savings
and spending goals and being good with money.

Banking is all about
being safe and secure, taking no risks, being trusted and complying with legal
and regulatory requirements.

It’s not about being
sexy with technology or such like.

The second is diametrically opposed to the first, and thinks
more like:

Banking is a business
that exists on data, and the data is the most important thing we manage.

Sure, banks need to be
trusted and secure, and that means looking after the data, leveraging the data
and giving customers access to their data whenever and wherever they need it.

Today, it’s all about
24*7 ubiquitous compute power, and that means we must deliver strong remote
digital services.

If we do not, we will
get compromised and undermined by others, and we will lose competitiveness.

So banking may be
about compliance and security, but it’s also about being there for the customer
and today, being there for the customer means being on their phone.

Both bankers are right, and both have a valid view.

The trouble is that the former tend to run the bank whilst
the latter are trying to.