Granny Ina will tell you that once upon a time she had to bring her local bank manager a tin of homemade scones before he’d even think about lending money for one of those new-fangled colour tellies.
While Granny’s scones haven’t changed in their ability to break teeth, the world of banking has moved forward at warp speed.
The biggest changes, of course, have come about thanks to the advances in digital communication.
And with more of us than ever now choosing to do all of our banking online, the future of more traditional financial institutions is certain to look very different.
We already have direct banks with no brick-and-mortar outlets, only ATMs, and mobile banking with fully functional, interactive, on-the-move apps.
So what does the near future of modern banking really look like?
Well, as financial institutions continually seek ways to stay relevant and attractive to customers, they will need to embrace ever more unfamiliar areas of technology and business practice.
For example, fully virtual channels, rather than alienating, could actually improve their customer relations.
With banks working with technology providers and in-house IT professionals, this trend will be driven by customers who are becoming incredibly tech savvy (well, maybe not Granny Ina but Davie is giving her computer lessons).
It should lead to a system that is able to offer ever quicker, ever more secure transactions – and a range of additional services at no extra cost: think insurance, investment, pensions and business planning.
Perhaps the most influential trend, however, will be what commentators are calling the ‘democratisation of finance’.
Basically, this predicts the unbundling of a bank’s services that currently see profits built from an accumulation of fees and charges.
These often hit the poorest customers hardest – anyone having to make international transfers, for example.
This change is well under way, with the World Bank announcing a fall in the cost of sending payments, driven by cheaper alternatives, that has already saved customers more than $60 billion since 2010.
All of this, of course, means fresh opportunities in the Financial Services industries for those who are starting out or can transfer their skills from many other sectors, such as IT and Customer Services.
If you’ve a head for numbers and a heart for customers (and don’t mind missing out on Granny’s scones), why not shape your own future in Financial Services with top roles on s1jobs?