Forging new pathways: The next evolution of innovation in financial services

The multiplicative impact of emerging technologies—such as AI, Internet of Things, distributed ledger technologies, and quantum computing—will be transformative to the financial services industry. But financial institutions are grappling to understand the impact that coordinated, clustered deployments of these technologies could have on the industry and develop a powerful innovation strategy accordingly. How can the industry ensure the effective deployment of these technology clusters to reap the benefits?

This report by Deloitte and the World Economic Forum explores the financial services–specific perspectives of new capabilities enabled by emerging technologies and the multiplicative impacts they unlock when clustered together. The study posits sector-specific use cases across six critical sectors—lending and deposits, investment management, payments, insurance, capital markets, and market infrastructure—and describes four key innovation "pathways" that could help institutions architect future operating models. The report also describes the three structural transformations we believe these emerging technology clusters will ultimately drive within the industry: