The topic of innovation seems to be heating up in banking circles recently. Normally, I would be excited about this. Instead, I have mixed feelings.
My biggest concern is that the enthusiasm over innovation is simply a reaction to recent regulatory actions that have constricted profitable revenue streams. If so, the “innovations” will be nothing more than workarounds designed to return profitability to these same streams.
My fondest hope is that there are real innovations on the horizon. New ways of connecting customers and banks. Technology and processes to make banking more convenient and useful for the customer. And creating competition around customer benefits that customers really want.
The true future of banking lies not in optimizing customers, but in optimizing customers’ lives.
Welcome to Outside-In Banking, a blog for bank marketers and anyone else involved in financial services. I believe that many banks are way too internally focused for their own good, so I try to provide an outside-in perspective. Expect a lot of opinions, raves, rants, and unsolicited advice. I hope to get the same from you. 
I agree, when traditional revenue streams get impacts from regs, we almost always see an increase in “innovation”. Not true innovation, but incremental innovation.