The views on what “digital” means for banking are diverse, and there is little consensus in the industry. Celent argues that digital is fundamentally reshaping financial institutions and requires a structural change in banking.

Few if any in the financial services industry would dispute that “digital” matters. However, when Celent asks banking executives what “digital” means for them, we get a diverse, and sometimes inconsistent, set of answers.

The new Celent report, Defining a Digital Financial Institution: What “Digital” Means in Banking, presents Celent’s framework for digital in banking. The framework has been shaped and influenced by Celent’s own primary research, in addition to conversations with industry practitioners, attendance at conferences, and tracking the plethora of perspectives on the Internet and social media. Its intent is to frame the issues, raise questions, and provoke a debate rather than provide definitive answers.

“Rather than taking a narrow view that equates digital with channels, we have tried to encapsulate a broad perspective on changes sweeping the industry,” says Zilvinas Bareisis, a senior analyst with Celent’s Banking practice and coauthor of the report. “We argue that digital is fundamentally reshaping financial institutions and requires a structural change in banking.”

“The framework describes a vision which few if any financial institutions today come close to achieving, and which can serve as an aspirational target during a digital transformation journey,” adds Dan Latimore, Senior Vice President of Celent’s Banking practice and coauthor of the report. “Many of the topics introduced here are explored in much greater depth in other Celent reports. And of course, we plan to continue diving deep into critical issues on digital and other priority areas for our clients.”

This 24-page report contains 16 figures. It concludes with recommendations for financial institutions embarking on a digital transformation journey.