SPOTLIGHT: Practical Partnerships – “Self-Personalization”

With all the talk in the industry about how essential partnerships will be to the success of FS organizations moving forward, it is crucial that you stay abreast of how these partnerships are manifesting across the globe.  While there are myriad examples, I wanted to spotlight one approach that I have come to call “self-personalization.”

Almost every organization I talk to has at least one major initiative lined up for 2023 or beyond that is related to personalization.  Many are so focused on hyperpersonalizing products and experiences that they forget to ensure that the customer still has a choice and feels a sense of agency.  One way that this is showing up in the market is through the use of partnerships that reminds me of the choose-your-own-adventure books I used to read as a kid.

While there are obviously nuances in the way this example appears at different organizations, the general approach has a core product like a DDA as a sort of platform, with partnerships being utilized to offer a variety of features.  Take, for example, United Overseas Bank (UOB) and their BizSmart solution, which is designed for SMEs.  Every business, once onboarded onto the UOB BizSmart platform, has access to an ecosystem of capabilities with a sort of a la carte menu.  The features can be selected and sort of snapped on to the DDA.  The ecosystem itself is a comprehensive set of product solutions from external technology partners with product-related insights.

Another example can be seen from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).  RBC developed an ecosystem of strategic partnerships with third parties to offer an array of products and services that fall outside the typical remit of financial services providers. This ecosystem is managed by a dedicated group supporting RBC’s business banking strategy, which helps RBC rapidly respond to emerging client needs in addition to helping clients in their transformation and growth journeys. For example, RBC was able to quickly add telehealth services to their partnership suite as client needs in this area grew.

It is not lost on us that these examples are both from the SME side of banking.  Make of that what you will, but it is not by chance.  It does seem that this manifestation of a practical partnerships is currently more commonly seen in a business banking capacity.  That being said, there is obvious (and exciting) greenfield for this to be used more in consumer, wealth, and commercial with great impact.

If you would like to discuss how partnerships are manifesting, emerging business models, or how to evaluate partnerships, let us know!  We would love to set you up for a chat with one of our experts!