In a fintech future, the customer will be king, and with this power comes the ease of switching bank in the same way you switch energy supplier in your home.

The term ‘disruption’ is a word often cited within the fintech world, but, as the chair and CEO of Grid Finance, Derek Butler, puts it, it’s hoped that the advances made by fintech start-ups and SMEs is not to overthrow the banks, but to forge alliances with them to bring their services into the 21st century.

In doing so, Fire Financial Services’ head of product, Owen O’Byrne, said he believes the hassle of switching banks in a world post-PSD2 will bring a much more deregulated and competitive market, which is good news for the average customer.

“In the future, where your money sits and what product you want to use will no longer be an important choice for you, it will just be ‘I want to use this product and it doesn’t care where my money is, so why should I’?,” he said.

Words by Colm Gorey