RESEARCH REPORT

In brief

In brief

  • We polled 650+ small and large businesses and 100 global banks to get their take on Open Banking for the corporate sector.
  • There is no shortage of opportunities for Open Banking innovation to give corporates greater banking access and expanded reach.
  • Gaps exist between what corporates want and what banks expect to provide—differences banks must address if they are to retain segment loyalty.

The Open Banking wave that is delivering novel services to retail customers holds even greater promise for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large corporations.

Corporates are preparing for Open Banking

Based on findings from our recent Open Banking for Businesses Survey, 77 percent of SMEs and large corporations already participate in Open Banking ecosystem platforms or plan to do so in 2019. They expect to partner with third-party providers (TPPs) mostly around payments, expense management and B2B services and more than two-thirds are interested in joining Open Banking ecosystem platforms with banks.

Likewise, more than 80 percent of banks already significantly invest in Open Banking use cases for SMEs and corporates or plan to do so. Nearly 90 percent are ready to build an ecosystem platform with third-party services for their commercial customers. It’s an opportunity for both banks and corporates to expand their ecosystems and extend their reach.

Gaps exist between banks and corporates

As aligned as corporates and banks are about the value of Open Banking for commercial business, there is a disparity between what corporates want and what banks plan to provide.

In our survey, for example, SMEs cited payments and cash management as the top two areas of their business that could be most improved in partnership with their bank. It indicates an opportunity for banks to help SMEs streamline and integrate their business and administrative processes—such as accounting, bookkeeping, payments, taxation and cash management. Yet, banks expect to enable banking as a platform (33 percent) and finance (15 percent) as Open Banking-related value-added services for their SME customers. Only 10 percent cited cash management and nine percent stated payments.

Digital newcomers are eager to jump in and address corporates’ needs through Open Banking. Novel bank competitors—like LendingClub, Kabbage, Xero and Tide—are already using real-time data to offer more customer-centric bundled solutions on seamless platform-based ecosystems that interact with banks where necessary. Fintechs and ERP software providers—like Stripe for online payments processing and SAP for cash management-ERP integration—are looking to help corporates gain greater efficiencies in payments.

Time to give corporates Open Banking value

With only 45 percent of companies fully satisfied with their organization’s business software in regards to payments and banking, it’s time for banks to turn Open Banking innovation to corporates’ advantage.

Banks that manage to get out of their comfort zone and rethink the way they address their commercial customers can stay relevant to them and grow.

Four ways banks can use Open Banking innovation to their advantage

1. A 360-degree view

Create a 360-degree view of the client to truly understand what SMEs and corporates want and develop products accordingly.

2. Money-making APIs

Monetize APIs as a channel, product and data.

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3. Revenue-sharing ecosystems

Create revenue-sharing ecosystems, partnering with TPPs to offer a full suite of solutions—bookkeeping, tax services, payments and more.

4. Banking as a platform or service

Do banking as a platform (developing ecosystems with fintechs and others) or as a service (using bespoke APIs to amplify the power of distribution and the ability to connect to multiple banks).

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In terms of a roadmap, the short-term emphasis for banks relative to Open Banking for SMEs and large corporations is to protect and retain and then invest and grow. It’s up to banks to fuel the Open Banking momentum and draw on it to benefit commercial customers—a high-value segment that represents upside future growth potential for banks.
Banks that get out of their comfort zones and rethink how they address commercial customers can stay relevant to them and grow.

About the Authors

Alan McIntyre

Senior Managing Director – Banking

Andrew McFarlane

Managing Director – Payments and Global Open Banking

Graham Rothwell

Managing Director – Payments, AAPAC

Maurits Olijve

Managing Director – Accenture Strategy, The Netherlands

Luca Gagliardi

Director – Accenture Research, Payments Lead

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