Any revolution should be treated as an opportunity. But opportunities can manifest themselves in many different, useful and inexplicable ways. I argue that the digital revolution will result in traditional banks and insurers losing customers but in an apparent contradiction, this will increase profitability and competitive advantage for these traditional incumbents.

The digital era purported to herald a new dawn of customer choice in banking and insurance. Using digital, customers would be able to match their lifestyle financial needs exactly with the best and most cost-effective financial products. As far back as 1997, bank account churn rates were estimated to be 10%. So, why is this change revolution still on the drawing board?