Building the business model of the future

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Uber is doing it in the taxi business and Airbnb in the hotel business: digital platforms are transforming more and more markets. This 'platformification' is also on the rise within financial services. It is a trend that offers many opportunities for banks, including the launch of promising business concepts and the optimisation of client experiences. That is why we work closely with platform companies and start-ups in order to increase our shared knowledge of platformification.

Platformification within the financial sector

All of the major tech companies now offer a payment platform such as Google Pay, Facebook Pay or Apple Pay, which have taken off since the arrival of PSD2. This European directive allows consumers to share their account information with external parties. This allows companies outside of the banking sector to develop and offer financial services. ABN AMRO is the first major bank in the Netherlands to offer a Developer Portal that enables innovation with external parties.

We innovate together with platform companies

Platformification seems to be the future, which is why ABN AMRO is building a diverse venture portfolio. The portfolio includes ventures that are looking for a profitable business model, for example by using APIs and smart financial solutions. The outcome may be that we build a new platform or seek collaboration with a pre-existing platform. We do this by using the latest technology based on real-time client interactions and data exchanges through APIs, for example.

New platforms with lots of potential

An example is our Payday proposition, which we are testing with babysitting platform Charly Cares and on-demand parcel delivery service Packaly. As part of the pilot project, the babysitters and couriers are paid immediately after they have finished their work. This is not yet the norm in the gig economy, in which gig workers and flex workers often have to wait days or weeks before they receive their money. Charly Cares and Packaly are using this app to change this situation: Payday is an app that allows gig and flex workers to choose when they receive their payments. Babysitters and couriers have the option to receive their pay immediately, 'in real time'.

We are also developing other platform propositions alongside Payday. Brix is a platform that facilitates partial home ownership, and we want to use it to help starters bridge the gap between house prices and their borrowing capacity. PayZed explores alternative financing options for consumers at online checkouts, such as buy now, pay later propositions. Our portfolio of initiatives is constantly changing.

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Innovating together

Collaboration is the key to successful innovation, as it means we can constantly learn from each other. That is why we actively look for partnerships. If your organisation innovates within one of our three themes (innovative sustainability, digital assets and platformification) and you could use our strength as a bank, please contact us. We would be interested in exploring how we can join forces.