From transaction to relationship: pioneering a new frontier in the community era for financial services as we appoint Antonio Vella as Expert for the new Business Unit
We support banks, insurers, and fintechs in developing more human, measurable, and personalized engagement models.
In an increasingly fragmented financial market, the true competitive battlefield is no longer just the product, but the relationship. In recent years, the banking and insurance sectors have seen a profound shift in consumer habits. Today’s customers are no longer loyal to a single institution; instead, they spread their services, payments, credit, investments, and insurance across various platforms, choosing the most convenient or user-friendly providers each time. The multibanking and unbundling phenomenon, highlighted as early as 2023 by Bain & Company, has steadily eroded the traditional concept of banking loyalty, weakening the bond between financial brands and users.
Compounding this evolution is another structural shift set to redefine the industry: the steady closure of physical branches. According to KPMG estimates, the number of bank branches will decline by 20% by 2029, accelerating the loss of the human touch that for decades served as a primary tool for understanding the customer. The result is a shrinking pool of qualitative and relational insights available to operators, precisely when the market demands a far more sophisticated understanding of individual behaviors.
Despite Italy exceeding the global average by 18 percentage points in offering ecosystem services, according to Deloitte, the relationship between banks and customers continues to weaken, and engagement remains fragmented. This gap becomes even clearer when examining loyalty: only 33% of Italian banks offer structured loyalty programs, compared to a global average of 95%. Furthermore, just 48% provide benefits linked to external partners, compared to 78% internationally. This lag highlights a market still heavily focused on transactions rather than on building long-term, ongoing relationships.
Meanwhile, entirely new models of lifestyle banking are emerging internationally. These revolve around an everyday ecosystem comprising mobility, entertainment, shopping, and value-added services, supported by strategic partnerships designed to engage specific communities and touch real-life moments beyond the strictly financial sphere. In this scenario, the ability to understand user behavior, passions, and habits becomes the decisive lever for generating long-term value.
It is precisely with this vision in mind that we announce the launch of our new Financial Services Business Unit: a dedicated division designed to guide banks, insurers, and fintechs in evolving their engagement and customer loyalty strategies through advanced data-driven tools. The goal is to bridge the relational gap that currently separates many financial institutions from their customers, putting a deep understanding of people back at the center. The new BU is built on a clear paradigm shift: moving beyond purely transactional data to embrace behavioral insights. No longer just information tied to purchases or processed transactions, but a system capable of interpreting interactions, interests, passions, and behaviors to build a unified, centralized user profile. This vision enables players across the sector to develop more effective, personalized relationship strategies throughout the entire customer lifecycle.
Our approach operates on two strategic levels: horizontally, by overseeing the entire customer journey, and vertically, through targeted campaigns focused on high-potential clusters. This proposed model actively intervenes across every stage of the relationship. From acquisition, leveraging advanced prospect profiling, to day-to-day engagement, it centers on behavioral loyalty, moving beyond traditional retention to reward virtuous behaviors such as saving and financial literacy. The journey culminates in advocacy, turning customers into genuine brand ambassadors capable of building brand trust and driving down acquisition costs.
Another key differentiator of the new BU is the precise measurement of performance and the accurate tracking of ROI. Thanks to the dynamic clustering of the customer base, financial providers can roll out promotions and initiatives that genuinely reflect user behavior and its evolution over time, maximizing campaign effectiveness and customer-perceived relevance. Our experience in the financial services sector is already well established through collaborations with leading market players, including Findomestic Banca (BNP Paribas Group) and ViViBanca. This know-how now takes shape in a dedicated Business Unit established to address one of the industry's most critical challenges: turning data into relationships and reconnecting the financial sector with an authentic place in people's everyday lives. Supporting the new Business Unit is Antonio Vella, Expert Partner for Advice Group, a seasoned professional with over 25 years of experience leading strategic projects for the banking and financial sector, including engagements at MBS Consulting (Cerved Group) and Resolving StrategyFinance.
Today, the true competitive asset is no longer just the product or the technology, but the quality of the relationship a brand can build with its customers. In a fragmented financial experience landscape, the ability to understand people’s true behaviors, interests, and needs becomes the strategic lever to drive trust, continuity, and long-term value.
Developing and enhancing customer relationships increasingly relies on providing innovative services that truly address individual needs through intuitive, user-friendly tools. Technological innovation must seamlessly integrate into people’s daily routines to elevate the user experience in a highly customized way, thereby fostering an authentic and lasting bond of trust between companies and their customers.
