FinTech - The digital (R)Evolution in the German Banking Sector?

Abstract

During the last years, the German banking sector has faced major changes due to significant progress in the technological sector and hence an increased digitalization in many areas. Changing consumer behavior and customer needs force credit institutions to adjust to these developments in order to maintain their competitiveness. An enlarged number of new financial technology (FinTech) corporations started providing financial services comparable to the ones conventional banks offer. In this context, especially the topic of robo-advice is becoming more and more relevant. Robo-advisors can be defined as digital platforms that provide automated, algorithm-driven financial planning services with little to no human supervision. In our article, we investigate robo-advisors as part of the FinTech movement and in particular analyze the eligibility of digital investment advisory service as potential alternative to conventional asset management. We specifically emphasize the influence that FinTech companies and innovations have on the German banking sector.