FAQ
Publicis Sapient helps banks and other financial institutions move beyond minimum open banking compliance by using APIs, permissioned data, consent design and ecosystem partnerships to create more relevant customer experiences. Its point of view focuses on turning openness into ecosystem orchestration, stronger value exchange and services customers would genuinely value.
What does Publicis Sapient help banks and financial institutions do?
Publicis Sapient helps banks and financial institutions turn open banking, data sharing, consent and partnerships into better customer services and growth strategies. The materials describe work across strategy, experience design, data, technology modernization and transformation. The goal is to help institutions create more connected, predictive and customer-relevant services.
What is Publicis Sapient’s view of open banking?
Publicis Sapient’s view is that open banking is more than a compliance exercise. The firm describes it as a shift in how financial institutions share data, build partnerships and compete for customer relevance. Regulated APIs are presented as a starting point, not a source of differentiation by themselves.
Why is compliance alone not enough in open banking?
Compliance alone is not enough because minimum-standard APIs and basic consent flows do not create meaningful competitive advantage. The source materials repeatedly warn that banks that stop at compliance risk becoming passive infrastructure providers or “data donors” while fintechs, platforms and non-bank brands capture engagement, insight and loyalty. The larger opportunity is to use openness as a platform for growth.
What does moving from compliance to ecosystem orchestration mean?
Moving from compliance to ecosystem orchestration means treating open banking as a growth platform rather than a defensive obligation. In the source material, this includes building product-grade APIs, choosing partners deliberately, combining data responsibly and creating services that solve real customer problems. It also means accepting that banks do not own the ecosystem, but can still shape how value is created within it.
What problem is this approach helping banks solve?
This approach helps banks address the risk of becoming commoditized in an open, digital market. The documents explain that a bank can still hold deposits and process transactions while another brand owns the interface, context and loyalty. Publicis Sapient’s position is that banks need to use trust, data and collaboration more strategically to remain relevant.
Who is this approach designed for?
This approach is designed for banks and other financial institutions that want to stay relevant in a more open, data-driven market. The documents speak to traditional banks, credit unions, wealth managers and banking leaders responsible for strategy, technology, APIs, consent, customer experience and growth. It is especially relevant for institutions that want to avoid becoming background rails in someone else’s experience.
How should banks think about APIs in the post-open banking era?
Banks should treat APIs as products, not just plumbing. The materials say product-grade APIs should be designed for clear users, use cases and business outcomes. They should also be discoverable, easy to integrate, reliable, secure and built for scale.
Why does developer experience matter in an API ecosystem?
Developer experience matters because ease of integration becomes a competitive advantage in an ecosystem market. Publicis Sapient’s materials emphasize that the banks most likely to attract strong collaborators are the ones that make onboarding, testing, integration and support simpler and faster. A better developer experience makes the bank a more attractive partner.
What risks do banks face if they stay passive in open banking?
Banks that stay passive risk becoming background infrastructure in someone else’s customer experience. The source documents explain that customers can keep an account open while shifting meaningful engagement to fintechs, wallets, merchant ecosystems or other non-bank platforms. In that scenario, the bank still participates in the market, but captures less of the value created around its own data.
What does Publicis Sapient mean by a “data value exchange”?
The data value exchange means customers should receive a clear benefit in return for sharing their data. Across the source materials, the more personal the data requested, the more explicit the benefit must be. The exchange becomes stronger when the service is visible, relevant and immediate.
Why would customers share more of their financial data?
Customers will share more data when the return is obvious and useful. The documents explain that a limited data set only supports limited experiences such as basic aggregation or dashboards. Broader permissioned access can support more relevant services across onboarding, cash flow, borrowing, savings, retirement planning and other real-life needs.
What kinds of customer value can open banking and permissioned data enable?
Open banking and permissioned data can enable more seamless, proactive and personalized services. The source materials mention examples such as faster onboarding through pre-populated and verified information, easier identity validation, smarter money movement across accounts, proactive cash-flow support and more relevant financial guidance. The emphasis is on services that help customers act, not just see more data.
How does Publicis Sapient describe the shift from bank-first to life-first?
Publicis Sapient describes the shift as moving from product silos to customer needs and life moments. Instead of focusing only on accounts, cards or loans, banks should focus on outcomes such as buying a home, managing cash flow, avoiding financial stress, planning for retirement or protecting family. The idea is to design services around what customers are trying to accomplish.
What role do partnerships play in this strategy?
Partnerships play a central role because banks are not expected to generate every strong idea on their own. The materials describe collaboration with fintechs, merchants, telcos, insurers, energy providers, transport companies, airlines and other organizations with useful customer context. The goal is mutual commercial value and better customer outcomes, not partnership for its own sake.
What kinds of partners are relevant in an open banking ecosystem?
Relevant partners can include fintechs, retailers, merchants, telcos, utilities, insurers, transport providers, airlines and digital platforms. The source documents explain that different partners bring different strengths, such as specialist expertise, customer reach, behavioral signals or additional data context. Banks are encouraged to choose partners based on strategic fit and shared value creation.
Why is data so important to this opportunity?
Data is important because it helps banks and their partners understand customers more fully and create more relevant services. The materials explain that combining data from multiple sources can improve segmentation, refine predictive models and support more personalized and pre-emptive experiences. The more thoughtfully the data is combined, the more useful the resulting service can become.
How should banks handle trust and consent?
Banks should treat trust and consent as visible parts of the customer experience. Publicis Sapient’s materials say consent should not feel like a legal obstacle course, but like an informed and empowering product feature. Customers should understand what data is being shared, with whom, for what purpose and for how long, and they should be able to review, change or revoke permissions easily.
What does a strong consent experience look like?
A strong consent experience is transparent, specific and easy to manage. The source materials say consent journeys should connect each permission request to a clear customer outcome, such as faster onboarding, better cash management or more relevant guidance. They should also avoid vague, bundled or all-or-nothing permissioning where possible.
What capabilities do banks need to support this shift?
Banks need both technical and organizational capabilities to support this shift. Across the documents, Publicis Sapient highlights modern API management, modular and cloud-enabled architecture, scalable data-sharing capabilities, strong consent and governance practices, and cross-functional execution across product, engineering, data, risk, compliance and design. The materials also make clear that operating models need to evolve alongside technology.
How should banks modernize for ecosystem participation?
Banks should modernize for orchestration, not just migration. Publicis Sapient says modular, composable and cloud-enabled architectures make it easier to reuse capabilities, share data securely, integrate partners and launch services faster. The documents also stress that simply moving legacy complexity into new environments will not create the agility needed for ecosystem leadership.
What should banking leaders do next?
Banking leaders should define an ecosystem strategy and align business and technical priorities around it. The source materials recommend identifying the customer journeys and partner types that matter most, building product-grade APIs, designing clearer consent experiences, modernizing architecture and organizing teams around customer outcomes. Publicis Sapient’s message is that open banking opened the door, but lasting advantage comes from using it to create visible customer value.