24 June 2019
Commercial Banks 3
The rise of the neobanks
What is a neobank?
A ‘neobank’ is a 100% digital bank that communicates and provides services to clients
exclusively through an application or online.
UK Case Study: 5 years ahead
Neobanks are yet to disrupt the traditional banking industry when it comes to vanilla
banking products, the incumbents still maintain the majority of the market share.
Australia’s neobanks
There are a number of neobanks targeting different markets that have recently obtained
licenses from APRA. They are aiming to be operational in the next year.
Regulation of neobanks
There are different avenues neobanks can pursue when obtaining their banking license
from APRA. They can take the RADI approach, similar to getting your P-plates, apply for a
full banking license straight away or piggyback off another bank’s license.
Open banking - catalyst for change?
This allows customers to access their information from a number of institutions. This can
empower other institutions to better help them with tailored, fast and accurate insights.
The millennial impact or ‘Nomads’
‘Nomads’ have a greater preference for digital channels and are not loyal to a single
brand.
How neobanks fund themselves
When a neobank first establishes itself, its main source of funding will be from equity
investors. As their operations grow they will start to look at funding up the capital structure.
Neobanks vs Fintech
Even though they are not neobanks, fintech companies still provide a threat to traditional
and major banks in Australia.
Profit Pool Analysis
We estimate that in the retail and SME segments there is an addressable market of
roughly $57bn of revenue generated by the major banks.
How are the majors responding?
Traditional banks are trying to use technology to “provide customised solutions, complete
solutions, and seamless solutions” in order to offer the same service as the neobanks.
Should the majors be threatened?
They have been investing in their own technology and are fully operational with their own
loyal customer bases. In order for the neobanks to truly pose a threat to the majors they
will need to offer a fundamentally different service and value-add that the majors currently
don’t.