Fintechs and Banks: Working Together, Competing, or Converging? (OpenAlex (recherche mondiale))

Summary

• The relationship between financial technology firms and traditional banks has evolved through a three-phase progression from initial competition to cooperation and convergence.p.1
• Fintechs utilize cloud-native infrastructures and automated platforms to provide customer support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.p.2
• Traditional European banks leverage established brand trust, regulatory expertise in GDPR and PSD2, and capital resources to adapt to digital transformation.p.3
• European regulatory frameworks such as PSD2 and DORA support collaboration by establishing open API data sharing standards and digital operational resilience requirements.p.4
• Banks actively engage in strategic fintech investments and acquisitions, such as BBVA purchasing U.S. neobank Simple and Mouro Capital investing in Creditas and Kabbage.p.5
• Convergence is demonstrated by fintechs seeking full banking licenses, such as Revolut obtaining a European banking license to provide credit and deposit products across the EU.p.6

Key insights

1. Initial market competition arose as fintechs used technological agility and product specialization to challenge incumbents in payments, lending, and wealth management.p.1
2. Harasim (2021) establishes that fintech adoption rates and asset complementarities determine whether institutions engage in competition or coopetition.p.2
3. ABN AMRO employs generative AI technology to generate automated summaries of customer contact center calls.p.3
4. The PSD2 regulatory framework mandates that banks securely share consumer data with authorized third parties using open APIs.p.4
5. Solarisbank in Germany provides banking-as-a-service infrastructure to allow third-party companies to launch financial products without building backend systems.p.5
6. Klarna demonstrates embedded finance by integrating buy now, pay later options directly into e-commerce checkout platforms.p.6
7. The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) harmonizes cybersecurity and resilience standards across both fintechs and traditional banking institutions.p.6