Banks are at a crossroads. Caught between outdated systems and rising digital expectations, they risk falling behind as nimbler, customer-focused challengers gain ground.
Carl Hasty, CEO of CoBa, a fintech platform helping banks modernise their digital services, has been speaking with leaders across banking and fintech about where the industry goes next.
What’s clear is that survival won’t come from clinging to old ways of working. It will come from rethinking what a bank is for: not just a place to hold money, but a partner that helps customers move forward.
Here, Hasty shares seven priorities that banks must embrace if they want to stay relevant and reclaim their role at the heart of business and consumer life.
1) Redefining the bank and customer relationship
There is little debate on one point: traditional banking models are no longer fit for purpose. Today’s customers benchmark their experiences not against other banks, but against the best digital products in the world.
The expectation is a seamless, intuitive, mobile first platform that makes managing money feel simple, even empowering. Monzo, Starling and others were cited as standard bearers for this shift: user led, design focused and unapologetically digital.
2) Turning data into decisions
Conversations consistently return to the untapped potential of data. It is not about how much information banks can collect, but about what they do with it.
The challenge is to transform data into meaningful insights, and insights into timely, intelligent actions that help customers get ahead. The opportunity lies in shifting from a reactive, record keeping role to a proactive, advisory one.
3) Moving away from standardisation towards adaptability
Talk of ‘one size fits all’ solutions will draw eye rolls and knowing laughter, a clear sign of how outdated that approach has become.
The future lies in building banking services that flex around individual needs. Modular ecosystems, tailored user journeys and smart personalisation were all flagged as essential for building trust and long-term loyalty in a competitive marketplace.
4) Overcoming the legacy burden
If digital ambition was high, then so too is awareness of the roadblocks. Chief among them is legacy technology.
There is broad recognition that transformation is not about surface level change. It is about reengineering core systems, often while still keeping the business running.
The prevailing wisdom is to start with the user facing layers. Create value and simplicity where it is visible, then tackle the deeper infrastructure in a strategic and incremental way.
5) Changing culture and modernising regulation
Innovation does not happen in a vacuum. It requires not only technological tools but also the right cultural and regulatory environments.
Leaders have spoken openly about the need for leadership teams to embrace experimentation and accept failure as part of progress. Just as importantly, regulators must evolve to allow space for innovation, even when that means stepping slightly into the unknown.
6) Trust is changing and fintechs understand this
While large banks still hold significant trust capital, they risk losing ground if they do not adapt to the expectations of digital native customers.
Fintech challengers are succeeding not because of marketing budgets, but because they solve real problems with clean design and empathetic user experience. Smaller banks, unencumbered by bloated processes, are proving that agility and authenticity can outpace scale.
7) The underserved opportunity in SMEs
When discussions turn to small and medium sized enterprises, it is clear that this segment remains underserved, and underserved segments are often where the biggest opportunities lie.
SMEs have unique needs, and the institutions willing to build with empathy, flexibility and speed will be the ones that earn their trust. Fintechs are already ahead here, offering specialised tools and more human support models.
Final reflections
Despite all the technology in play, banking remains at its core a people business. It is about listening, anticipating needs and building relationships that last.
“The future belongs to the banks that can move fast enough to matter but slow down just enough to listen.”
At CoBa, we are proud to be part of this journey, helping institutions navigate complexity, embrace innovation and build for what comes next.
If any of these themes resonate, I would love to continue the conversation.
