At the same time, AI opens the door for fintech companies and Big Tech platforms to insert themselves between banks and their customers.
This growing trend significantly increases the risk of financial disintermediation, where banks lose direct customer relationships.
The situation resembles the rise of digital wallets several years ago, when many traditional banks lost transaction volumes as customers shifted toward e-wallet platforms.
Despite rapid technological advancement, Accenture emphasizes that human interaction remains essential.
Physical branches and relationship managers continue to play a critical role in building trust, especially for major financial decisions such as mortgages, wealth management, and long-term investments.
The Battle for Bank Balance Sheets Has Intensified
Competition is no longer centered on mobile banking features alone. Today’s battle is for the very foundation of banking—the balance sheet. For decades, deposits and lending have been the primary profit engines of commercial banks. Now, those businesses face unprecedented competition.
Stablecoin issuers, cryptocurrency firms, and private credit institutions are increasingly competing for customer funds.
Accenture estimates that more than US$200 trillion in global deposits and lending is now exposed to new competitive pressures.
Customers who once automatically kept their savings in banks now have access to numerous alternatives offering:
• Higher yields
• Faster transactions
• More flexible financial services
As a result, banks can no longer sell products individually. Modern customers expect integrated financial ecosystems instead of separate savings accounts, fixed deposits, and investment products.
Banks must develop unified value propositions that remain competitive even when AI-powered financial agents can compare every available offer across the market in seconds.
The Rise of the “10x Bank”
Accenture also highlights a major shift in banking operations through the emergence of the 10x Bank.
The concept describes a future where a single employee coordinates multiple AI systems to deliver productivity levels ten times greater than traditional workflows.
Early implementations have already demonstrated measurable benefits. Software development cycles are accelerating dramatically.
Know Your Customer (KYC) processes that previously required several days can now be completed within minutes.
