The development of apps able to compete with the classic banking institutions, not to mention the continuous incursions of the big Hi-tech companies in the fintech universe, is forcing the banking industry to look for new ways to keep up with the times.

If the idea that union is strength is true, it seems that working in synergy with fintech companies could be the main strategy chosen by the Italian Banking Association, in order to create new services that could respond to an increasingly fragmented and technological market.

According to a recent survey by the Digital Innovation Observatory in Retail, Italians leave old habits and focus on digital payments. In 2018, 33% of retailers invested in innovative payment solutions and, in particular, 24% invested in Mobile POS. From pastry shops to itinerant food trucks, through the artisans of ancient trades, innovation is gaining more and more consistent parts in the retailers’ world

There is no antidote for the future but to give in to change and the Italian banking world seems to have understood the lesson. On the other hand, the numbers are not reassuring: in 2008, customers entered the branch 1.7 times on average per month; ten years later, they fell 1.3 times. Excluding cherges and automatic credits, at the end of 2016 two thirds of the transactions were carried out remotely, using PCs, tablets and smartphones. In fact, today only 5% of customers use exclusively physical channels.

Faced with these data, the choices shrink, and embrace a development that arises not from the opposition but from an integration between the banking world and the fintech universe seems to be the only antidote against the sudden changes that are leading digital payments.