Survey: Goldman, JPMorgan Likely To Benefit The Most From Fintech Disruption

According to an Autonomous Research survey, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are likely to benefit the most from the much-talked-about wave of financial technology disruption, Bloomberg reported.

85% of the 150 executives and investors expect selected disruption or a mix of winners and losers, while 14% think that banks face a significant threat, according to the survey.

Brian Foran, an Autonomous Research LLP partner who ran the survey this month, said that Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan were chosen as the biggest winners as they have the best track record of implementing technology and will be able to successfully learn from new entrants in payments, blockchain and automated investing.

In addition, Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. were also chosen as winners as mobile payments become more commonplace and blockchain technology lowers costs in many institutional businesses, according to the survey.

Coming to the losers, respondents picked American Express Co., the biggest credit-card issuer by purchases, as one of the biggest losers from technological changes. Western Union Co. and MoneyGram International Inc. were also named as losers because coming payment systems could reduce their share of global money transfers, according to the survey.

In an emailed statement to Bloomberg, Dan Diaz, a spokesman for Western Union said that it has created new websites and mobile apps this year and will continue to innovate based on consumer feedback. MoneyGram told the media house that it is strategically positioned for the long term as it expands its global reach and embraces robust emerging technologies that bridge the digital and cash worlds.

Foran added that 2016 will be important as banks release their first pilot programs in fintech areas including mobile payments and blockchain to see how viable they are. According to the survey, blockchain, the decentralized pubic ledger, has the potential to be among the most influential of the new technologies.

“Most banks have a goal of launching something in 2016 as a proof-of-concept,” Bloomberg quoted Foran. “They’re all quite narrow in terms of their ambition -- stuff like transferring money, branch-to-branch within the bank, or maybe creating the ability to settle a single type of asset class, just to see how it would work.”