Warsaw International Banking Summit. e-point about FinTech
Warsaw International Banking Summit was held on 5-6 September as part of the Meeting of Leaders of Banking and Insurance. It is an event that brings together bank presidents, economists, solution suppliers and companies that cooperate with banks.
In the last, twelfth edition, there were 769 participants, 98 lecturers and 32 partners - again, e-point was among them. During this year’s edition, a lot of time was dedicated to the topic of new technologies in finance. Legal and security issues were also widely discussed.
Banks vs. FinTech
"Service providers on the financial market – traditional entities vs. new entrants – possible grounds for cooperation and competition” – was the topic of the panel in which Warzyniec Hyska, Senior Solutions Architect in e-point SA, discussed with representatives of banks and financial institutions. The panel was hosted by Michał Kisiel, an analyst from Bankier.pl. The main issue disputed was whether banks should feel threatened by fintechs. Wawrzyniec Hyska explained that such a fear is unfounded: Polish banks are among the most modern and innovative in the world. They have a vast capital, a strong position on the market and employ top-notch specialists. Also, the banks have cutting-edge technologies at their disposal and they build strong relationships with clients.
"In comparison with banks, Polish startups (Including startups in the field of technology) are underinvested. That is why it’s hard to believe that they can pose a serious threat to the position of banks".
Wawrzyniec Hyska
Dyrektor ds. Sektora Finansowego
e-point SA
- Interestingly, the situation in USA is quite the opposite. Banks don’t have a good reputation and very often use obsolete technologies. Startups, on the other hand, receive a lot of funding. That is why, on the American market, the position of traditional banking is tangibly threatened by new entrants – he added.
Returning to the Polish context, Wawrzyniec drew attention to the fact that the current relationship between banks and fintechs is mainly the latter selling services to the former. It is done through contracts or even selling the company to the bank. To sum up the discussion, Warzyniec Hyska said : “ Cooperation of banks and fintechs is the best development strategy."