Wells Fargo Executive Predicts if Traditional Banks Are the Platform Providers of the Future and What It Would Take to Get There

In 2023, Wells Fargo posits that the banking as a platform (BaaP) model will cement its towering stance across the industry. Reetika Grewal EVP, Head of Digital Transformation at Wells Fargo, outlined her 2023 outlook for the BaaP model and her predictions around how banks will transform into the platform companies of the future.

She focused on answering two main questions. The first question is will traditional banks be the platform providers for the future. Secondly, what will it take for the banking industry to evolve as a platform to assure its role?

Grewal commented for 2023, “Recent open banking legislation enacted across prominent markets such as the European Union and Hong Kong is ushering in a new wave of collaboration among banks on a global scale. As remaining markets adopt open banking regulations, they must transition to a horizontal architecture that charts a path forward for the banking as a platform (BaaP) model if they want to retain a competitive advantage.

She then focused on customer needs.

“As the pace of open banking legislation grows, so do customer needs and innovative breakthroughs in fintech. Customers will continue to demand that their needs be met through convenient interactions across providers, and the stakes have never been higher when it comes to customer experience expectations. The collaboration that the BaaP models offers with other service providers by enabling the selection of single providers through a platform that’s equipped to handle all payments in one place is addressing these demands head-on”, she said.

"As a result of heightened fintech collaboration, BaaP use cases will expand far and wide. For example, Wells Fargo recently unveiled Vantage, a new business management system that allows cash flow and money movement within a singular platform by way of a connected ecosystem. Vantage allows businesses to manage their finances on one platform, offering CEOs and CFOs visibility into their cash positions, as well as an overall company perspective.

Grewal in essence answered the questions by stating that banks will indeed transform into the platform companies of the future in 2023.