In the video interview, Nankova identifies two trends that she believes will present both obstacles and opportunities for transaction banks in the near future: the new wave of technology and digitalisation; and the changing regulatory landscape.

According to Nankova, the way that banks use technologies – whether that is artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain settlement, or cloud technologies – will continue to play an important role both in terms of reducing costs and improving operational efficiency. At the same time, implementation of new regulations, such as the third Payment Services Directive (PSD3) and Basel III Endgame, will continue to shape the market.

So, how can banks keep pace? Nankova believes they need to upgrade their back end and core infrastructure to ensure that they are faster in responding to regulatory changes, as well as customer demands. The financial services industry already has a new market infrastructure with ISO 20022, but banks now need to reap the benefits – and AI data and analytics could provide the spark needed to take the industry to the next level.