Fintech: Financial Services Are Everywhere, But What Lies Beyond the Horizon?

Previously, to get financial services, you had to go to a bank, insurance company, or broker's office. Now, a couple of clicks are enough, and increasingly not even in a banking app: insurance can be arranged when buying goods, and credit can be obtained directly on a marketplace.

When I worked as Chairman of the Board of Otkritie Broker and Vice President of Otkritie Bank, we discussed where a bank ends and a technology company begins. Back then, the boundary was defined by licensing and supervision; today, financial services are increasingly embedded in third-party interfaces.

Previously, to get financial services, you had to go to a bank, insurance company, or broker's office. Now, a couple of clicks are enough, and increasingly not even in a banking app: insurance can be arranged when buying goods, and credit can be obtained directly on a marketplace.

It would seem the next step is a final move online. However, we are seeing the opposite trend. In the UK, NatWest is investing in its branch network; in the US, JPMorgan Chase plans to open more than 160 new offices in 2026; and in Russia, major banks advocate for preserving physical bank branches. I consider this turn of events entirely logical: the more digital services and artificial intelligence surround a person, the more valuable the opportunity to speak with a specialist in person becomes.

In my view, the financial business rests on two things — data and empathy, that is, understanding the client. Information about people's purchases and behavior is collected by both banks and marketplaces. But what matters is not so much the volume of data as its reliability and the ability to use it. The mass adoption of AI creates an additional problem: errors accumulate in information flows. Therefore, financial organizations will have to invest more seriously in verifying, storing, and processing information, including through solutions based on distributed ledger technology.

The second advantage of banks is live communication. It doesn't necessarily have to happen in a traditional branch: you can meet with clients in cafes, restaurants, sports clubs, and other familiar places. But it won't be possible to automatically turn marketplace pickup points into bank offices either: they have a different service model and different client expectations. Online platforms are capable of competing with banks in data collection, but building trusting relationships through personal communication is harder for them.

Looking ahead, high-quality data will become an even more valuable financial asset. I see potential in tokenizing it and attracting investment through regulated digital financial assets (DFAs). This would allow attracting clients not only as buyers of services but also as co-investors in technological projects — in the fields of AI, blockchain, and biotechnology. At the same time, the future of the financial sector will depend not only on new technologies but also on the ability to bring full-fledged human communication back into business relationships.