Today’s banks are developing new relationships with the fintechs they once thought were in direct competition. As things move toward digital, new challenges and opportunities are on the horizon. Today’s customers expect everything on their own devices, immediately, and banks are working hard to make the move to digital. One way to make it happen may be an embrace of the application program interface (API) economy.

Banks working from the static, old-school technology and structure they’re used to are facing new struggles as their customers expect increasingly immediate, agile functionality and services. The advanced capabilities of open platforms and APIs are enabling innovation for the nimblest banks, which is shaking up the status quo for banks and their customers as the industry moves toward a platform methodology.

Platform thinking

Modern banking organizations win when they have a solid jumping-off point for new digital expectations. The platform approach delivers modern, cloud-native, API-first solutions that adjust their behavior based on real-time customer interactions. What does that mean to the average customer? A better, more relevant experience with communications that make sense and offer real, in-the-moment value.

Leveraging real-time insights

A big part of this move to digital is driven by real-time insights and the move to digital spells success for organizations that are ready to act fast, embrace new ideas and make technology work for them as they take on a new digital identity. A major part of that success relies on your ability to stay connected – not only to customers in real time, but to business tools and solutions designed to help customers and colleagues do more. Embracing fintech partnerships that allow access to platforms, APIs and events can deliver benefits like:

• Scaled and innovative solutions
• Deeper and analytics-driven customer engagement
• Enhanced risk mitigation
• Improved product efficiency
• More accessible products

Friends in fintech and more

Banks have survived for this long because they are incredibly good at doing what they’ve always done – providing traditional banking services to individuals and businesses in their communities. Now that the market is requiring a significant shift in this behavior, banks who want to keep their growth and revenue trajectories intact will need to broaden your horizons and consider new paths forward.

This starts with a serious look at what customers really want from your bank today and considering what tomorrow’s customers will be looking for too. The next step is to expand from a localized network into a comprehensive ecosystem of tools, solutions and relationships that enhance your bank’s capabilities and offerings. Join the 52 percent of top 100 global banks who’ve formed 130+ partnerships .

Start by looking for fintech partners who can provide the innovative, quick-to-market iterations customers are looking for, while your old-school bank structure provides the stability, scale and long-term reputation to keep things moving forward. In other words, you’ll be creating a partnership designed to deliver innovative banking solutions faster, cheaper and better. Leverage your fintech partners for same-day or next-day access to funds, transparent and affordable solutions, and a simple digital user experience.

The platform giants

As banks and fintechs join forces, they strengthen both of their long-term success foundations. That strength can only help as new platform companies like Amazon, Apple and Google enter the banking ring with lower costs and more convenience. In a Bain & Company survey, 55 percent of US consumers said they would consider buying financial products from these platform giants and 73 percent of millennials admitted they’d be more excited about a new financial solution from Amazon, Google or PayPal than from their bank.

As the platform giants continue to bring new options to the market, banks and fintechs can be working together on innovative new options and tools. Banks that are ready to succeed against this new potential threat should be looking for their place inside of vibrant ecosystems that connect banks and their users to solutions for every current and potential need.

Changing the game for financial institutions

Look for an ecosystem that is leveraging the power of platformication – a new business model with a plug-and-play approach that relies on APIs to allow simple integration with systems and functionality. At FIS™, we started the API revolution with ourselves.

Once considered only a product company, FIS has moved into the solutions market by integrating our systems to offer better tools and resources for our clients. By introducing FIS Code Connect, we deliver a straightforward way to manage integrations into FIS and facilitate the building out of partnerships and a thriving API marketplace. By giving our clients the ability to customize their solutions and quickly integrate via our APIs, our clients have the power to access their cores and back offices, enable digital channels, integrate with smart fintechs and launch new lines of business.