Challenging yourself: How traditional banks are forging their own challenger banks

Challenger banks are a major topic of discussion in the financial services industry no matter where one looks. While the biggest digital-only banks receive much of the attention, at Efma we wanted to further examine how a number of traditional banks have responded to new competitors: by creating their own challenger bank. These self-disruptions are the result of the constant connectivity that defines 21st century life. Customers want digital, simple, and adaptable banking experiences. So traditional banks have set out to create that type of experience for customers via new, digital-first banks.

Starting a bank-within-a-bank is no small feat. In this edition of Voice of the members, we look at what led certain financial institutions to launch their own neobank. How do you position the neobank in the market? Do you target a new segment or cannibalize current customers? Are the neobanks granted complete independence from their parent institution? We asked all these questions and more to understand this phenomenon from those who know it best.

This report gathers exclusive interviews from top executives at: ActivoBank (Millennium bcp), buddybank (UniCredit), Discovery Bank (Discovery), EON (Union Bank of the Philippines), Hello Bank! (BNP Paribas), imagin (CaixaBank), au Jibun Bank (MUFG), Liv. (Emirates NBD), Mox (Standard Chartered Bank), Next (Banco Bradesco), Space (TBC Bank), Woop (Sicredi).

We want to thank all contributing members of Qorus for providing their expertise and insight for this newest edition of Voice of the members.