Predictions:
1. Bank-Fintech Partnerships accelerate this year.
2. We finally agree that the “BaaS” acronym is backward… The business model is really “Channels as a Service (to Banks)”.
3. We found the obelisk. We are smarter. It is time to upgrade approaches to drive out risk, cost, manual steps, clunky processes, and other anachronsims.
4. The future is integrated. Elegant tech stacks. Transparent governance. Nothing will feel bolted-on.
5. Regulators “get it”. They know what questions to ask. They know what acceptable answers look like. They understand the moving parts, risks, controls, and ecosystems. There’s less “educating regulators” and more “collaborating to validate safety, soundness, and compliance of the new partner channels”.
6. It will be much easier to see who is cutting corners. The best banks, programs and partnerships will be obvious.
