This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Fintech Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here.The legacy investment bank began offering a savings account to retail customers via its online banking platform, GS Bank, in April.The account requires no minimum deposit and has an interest rate of 1.05%. So far, around 33,000 accounts have been opened, and customer deposits are at around $1.8 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.For context, Bank of America attracted $18 billionin new consumer deposits between Q1 2016 and Q2 2016.GS Bank is using high interest rates to attract customers.GS Bank's savings account currently offers the highest interest rate of any savings account in the US. This is likely part of a strategy to draw customers away from more well-established retail banks like Bank of America. It may also help consumers overcome reservations they might have about moving to a bank that has historically focused on investment products for wealthy customers.The savings account seems to be the first step in a plan to diversify revenue by increasing loan volumes.Goldman Sachsis planning to launch another retail product, an online lending platform, in the fall, CFO Harvey Schwartz saidduring the company'sQ2 earnings call.The company is likely trying to attract deposits now in order to have enough capital to be able to fund a significant volume of loans via the new product at launch.Weve entered the most profound era of change for financial services companies since the 1970s brought us index mutual funds, discount brokers and ATMs.No firm is immune from the coming disruption and every company must have a strategy to harness the powerful advantages of the newfintechrevolution.The battle already underway will create surprising winners and stunned losers among some of the most powerful names in the financial world: The most contentious conflicts (and partnerships) will be between startups that are completely reengineering decades-old practices, traditional power players who are furiously trying to adapt with their own innovations, and total disruption of established technology & processes:Traditional Retail Banks vs. Online-Only Banks: Traditional retail banks provide a valuable service, but online-only banks can offer many of the same services with higher rates and lower fees'Traditional Lenders vs. Peer-to-Peer Marketplaces: P2P lending marketplaces are growing much faster than traditional lendersonly time will tell if the banks strategy of creating their own small loan networks will be successful'Traditional Asset Managers vs. Robo-Advisors: Robo-advisors like Betterment offer lower fees, lower minimums and solid returns to investors, but the much larger traditional asset managers are creating their own robo-products while providing the kind of handholding that high net worth clients are willing to pay handsomely for.As you can see, this very fluid environment is creating winners and losers before your eyesand its also creating the potential for new cost savings or growth opportunities for both you and your company.After months of researching and reporting this important trend, Evan Bakker, research analyst forBI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has put together an essential reporton the fintech ecosystemthat explains the new landscape, identifies the ripest areas for disruption, and highlights the some of the most exciting new companies.These new players have the potential to become the next Visa, Paypal or Charles Schwab because they have the potential to transform important areas of the financial services industry like:Retail banking'Lending and Financing'Payments and Transfers'Wealth and Asset Management'Markets and Exchanges'Insurance'Blockchain Transactions'If you work in any of these sectors, its important for you to understand how the fintech revolution will change your business and possibly even your career. And if youre employed in any part of the digital economy, youll want to know how you can exploit these new technologies to make your employer more efficient, flexible and profitable.Among the big picture insights you'll get fromThe Fintech Ecosystem Report: Measuring the effects of technology on the entire financial services industry:Why financial technology is so disruptive to financial servicesit will soon change the nature of almost every financial activity, from banking to payments to wealth management.The basic conflict will be between old firms and newstartups are re-imagining financial services processes from top to bottom, while incumbent financial services firms are trying to keep up with new products of their own.Both sides face serious obstaclestraditional banks and financial services firms are investing heavily in innovation, but leveraging their investments is difficult with so much invested in legacy systems and profit centers.Meanwhile, startups are struggling to navigate a rapidly-changing regulatory landscape and must scale up quickly with limited resources.The blockchain is a wild card that could completely overhaul financial services. Both major banks and startups around the world are exploring the technology behind the blockchain, which stores and records Bitcoin transactions. This technology could lower the cost of many financial activities to near-zero and could wipe away many traditional banking activities completely.This exclusive report also:Explains the main growth drivers of the exploding fintech ecosystem.Frames the challenges and opportunities faced by incumbents and startups.Breaks down global and regional fintech investments, including which regions are the most significant and which are poised for the highest growth.Reveals which two financial services are garnering the most investment, and are therefore likely to be transformed first and fastest by fintechExplains why blockchain technology is critically important to banks and startups, and assesses which players stand to gain the most from it.Explores the financial sectors facing disruption and breaks them down in terms of investments, vulnerabilities and growth opportunities.And much more.The Fintech Ecosystem Report: Measuring the effects of technology on the entire financial services industry is how you get the full story on the fintech revolution.To get your copy of this invaluable guide to the fintech revolution, choose one of these options:Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIPPurchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORTThe choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, youve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the fast-moving world of financial technology.Join the conversation about this story
Click here to read full news..
