Software giant Microsoft and Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers have revealed their intention to combine forces in developing a new digital banking offering as part of their ongoing partnership. The product, which will become part of Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services, will empower clients to build personalized digital customer experiences “from onboarding to fulfilment.”
First announced in February 2021, Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services went live on November 2 with Virgin Money UK as one of its high-profile users. The platform seeks to help create unique and tailored customer experiences around onboarding, banking engagement, and loan management. With the digital banking market reaching $12.1 billion during 2020 and with growth projected to reach $30.1 billion by 2026, the move looks to provide an excellent opportunity for financial institutions looking to tap into new ways of reaching customers and adapting to the dynamic business environment.
PwC’s Digital Banking Transformation practice will play a crucial role in providing multi-disciplinary support for the endeavor, accelerating the adoption of new technologies to reduce operational costs and drive improvements in service provision. The financial services sector provides about a third of PwC UK’s total revenue. The Global Alliance Partnership between PwC and Microsoft has helped businesses drive their digital transformations by aligning business goals with Microsoft’s market-leading cloud products.
“Our latest collaboration with Microsoft marks a landmark in our ‘asset-backed business consulting’ strategy, giving our teams a cutting-edge digital banking solution that improves the speed, consistency and agility of service delivery for our clients,” said John Lyons, Global Digital Banking Platforms Leader at PwC UK.
The collaboration comes at a time when traditional financial institutions are facing increasing pressure to adapt to a rapidly changing and uncertain market serving a younger and more technologically-oriented customer base. Traditional financial institutions have been facing stiff competition from more agile fintech startups that are frequently unencumbered by the legacy technology and business processes utilized by their older counterparts. Regulatory compliance also plays a role in the increase in business complexity, with greater levels of regulation evolving to meet newer technology and ways of doing business.
