Our goal: sustainable and inclusive solutions for the financial world

zeb is a community partner of the “Point Zero Forum”, an event organized by Elevandi and the Swiss SIF, which serves as a platform for various players from the financial industry to explore and discuss current industry trends. Where do you see the greatest opportunities for the global financial industry in the coming years?
MATTHIAS KRÖNER: In my opinion, the greatest chances for the financial industry, but also for Europe as an economic region, arise from the current global challenges. We must learn to see problems and obstacles as market opportunities. Let’s take climate change as an example: the sustainable transformation of the economy is humankind’s greatest challenge – and, at the same time, its biggest opportunity. The necessary changes, such as more sustainable energy production, must be driven forward and, above all, funded. As nations cannot achieve this on their own, private players will also have to do their part.
Another thing to consider: it is estimated that in regions such as Latin America, Asia and Africa, 50% of people have no access to fair financial services. These are regrettable circumstances, but at the same time they represent enormous potential! Tapping into these markets and, for example, promoting financial inclusion, is a huge opportunity.
At the same time, technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and digital currencies are fundamentally changing the financial sector. These innovations bring about completely new business models and promote financial inclusion. Moreover, they allow FSPs to make their processes more efficient and increase their resilience in times of crisis – that is, if they dare to think outside the box and leave their own comfort zone, of course. Only those who are willing to break new ground and pursue innovative approaches will be able to seize the opportunities of the future. 

In the global financial world, disruptive technologies are a recurring theme. What will the bank of the future look like?
Not so long ago, the role of a bank could be summarized quite simply as “the place to store and access money”. In today’s digital age, this definition absolutely has to be expanded to include “data”. The bank of the future will increasingly have to rely on technology to justify trust and guarantee security, including the security of processes, data and interfaces. In our ever more digitalized world, this security function will be of vital importance when it comes to a) maintaining customer trust and b) being able to occupy the customer interface in the long term.

But that’s not all. The bank of the future must become an active, integral part of the digitalized financial industry in order to remain at the customer interface. Customers increasingly expect seamless, personalized and instant experiences – anytime, anywhere. These expectations can only be met by using advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence, which enable banks to offer customized solutions and constantly adapt to the needs of their customers. As banks can hardly meet the necessary technical requirements on their own, most of them have no way around integrating digital third-party products and services. As quasi-orchestrators, they will retain control over their customer relationships and even intensify them by offering their customers the added value of digitalization.

All of this requires not only a fundamental openness to technological innovation, but also a cultural change in the respective organizations.

From a geopolitical perspective, the Asian and American financial centers seem to be leaving Europe behind. Do you share this view and if so, where do you see a need for action?
Yes, I share the view that in recent years, Asian financial centers have significantly expanded their influence and gained a lot of ground, particularly due to their rapid adoption of new technologies. This development is also driven by socio-demographic trends in Asia, which continue to promote the growth of these financial markets. At the same time, however, these markets are facing considerable geopolitical challenges that must not be overlooked.

The various regions pursue very different approaches, for example when it comes to regulating artificial intelligence and the crypto industry. In the USA in particular, the current presidential election campaigns are having a considerable impact on technology policy. Technology is thus becoming a major political issue.

The way I see it, Europe urgently needs to intensify its efforts to promote start-ups and advance its digital infrastructure. In order not to fall further behind in global competition, Europe must increase its innovative clout.

At the Elevandi conferences, we witness many exciting discussions between representatives from different regions who wish to learn from each other and join forces to develop new solutions.

What vision are you and your colleagues at Elevandi pursuing?
At Elevandi, our vision is to create a global network that connects finance, regulation and technology. As you can see from my previous answers, blessings and curses are often two sides of the same coin. Elevandi offers the community a platform on which all these developments can not only be discussed, but also actively driven forward.

Our aim is to develop sustainable and inclusive solutions for the pressing challenges the financial world is facing. We attach great importance to inclusion, transparency, collaboration and continuous innovation in order to shape a better future for everyone involved. We are firmly convinced that technology and finance need to be closely interlinked in order to make a positive contribution to overcoming the current challenges.