Bank 4.0: Banking everywhere, never at a bank

by Brett King

In the final book in the digital 'BANK'; series, Brett King tackles the topic of whether banks have a future at all in the emerging, technology embedded world of the 21st century. In 30-50 years when cash is gone, cards are gone and all vestiges of the traditional banking system have been re-engineered in real-time, what exactly will a bank look like? How will we reimagine a bank account, identity, value, assets, investments? Then stepping back from this vision of the future, King and his cadre of `disruptors' and Fintech mafia chronicle the foundations of this new banking ecosystem today. From selfie-pay in China, blockchain in Africa, self-driving cars with their own bank accounts and augmented reality tech that informs the future design of banking systems, this proves once and for all that we're not in Wall Street anymore Toto. Bank 4.0 is what banking will become.

Genres: Finance, Banking, Business, Nonfiction, Technology, Money

384 pages, Hardcover

Published August 1, 2018

Reviews

[Hildeberto · Rating 3 out of 5]

The problem with books trying to predict the future is that they sometimes don't achieve their goal. As time passes, the book's assertions became obsolete or ended up in a different direction. For example, blockchain has been largely emphasized by the book as a threat to traditional ledger systems, but after years of research and experimentation, nothing has reached even close to the current scale of financial systems.

The text is veeery repetitive. The author summarizes the whole idea in the last chapter. So, to save time, just jump to the last chapter and learn all you need to know about the future of your financial institution.

In general, the book is good and what I've learn was worth the time lost with clutters, but I only recommend it for people in the financial industry.

[Josh De Vera · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thought provoking delve into the rapidly evolving industry spearheaded by surprisingly successful players from a variety of different fields. Ant Financial and Tencent are Skynet.

[Luong Trung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bank 4.0 is continuous iterative of Bank 3.0; in this book, as the author mention before, it’s higher than bank 3.0 and showed gaps between current states (of bank) and bank 3.0. Bank 4.0 is different to Bank 3.0 and it focus on happening in real-world. When the first wave of Fintech and innovation will change behavior after all; it’s very interested in.

Omni-channel, QR-Code, KYC and/or Big-data in Bank 3.0 is the foundation to continual of next waves that are applied AI, Block-chain and payment systems (includes AML). Through the book, I many lession learned, especially chosen the “where” to start the battel against giants (Alibaba vs ebay); the ways Uber change behavior with driverless automobile; and/or Wepay can do with leverage of technology.

Only a disappointed, content is talked a lot of Alibaba/Ant Finance and Jack Ma; they are real but I am expected bank 4.0 bring me to wonder land such as doreamon comics. I see many things in comics and it’s become true.

Thanks author spent a lot of time to write, publish and sharing valuable contents.

[Michael Duyvesteijn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being in the Fintech industry, this book has been proper food for thought as to how banks should be repositioning themselves for the future. “Banking” will disappear and any activity they engage in should be highly experiential (instead of product focused).

That being said, the book is repetitive (it’s pretty clear by now Brett King doesn’t deem branches are a forward-thinking strategy) and could’ve been written in fewer words. So I give it 4.5 stars, rounding up to 5.

[Lan-Anh (Vivian) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Các startup TechFin (cty CN focus vào tài chính) đang dần khẳng định vị thế với ngành ngân hàng. Bank buộc phải phát triển các kỹ năng mới. Tương lai của bank không nằm ở tiện ích thanh toán/ tín dụng mới mà được nhúng trong các trợ lý thông minh (Alexa/ Siri), sẵn sàng 24/7 để giúp con người thanh toán, đặt chỗ, giao dịch hoặc hỏi thăm. Ngân hàng 4.0 = ngân hàng được nhúng vào thế giới của bạn.
Brett King chỉ ra rằng ngân hàng hiện nay mới chỉ phủ công nghệ & kĩ thuật số lên mô hình (sp & quy trình) truyền thống, chưa thực sự chuyển đổi số.
Nhiều dẫn chứng hay, ví dụ trực quan.

[Jas · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent book on the future of banking. The future digital and AI banking are going to be huge changes to this industry.

[Sergio Sánchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of the near future of banking.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bank 4.0 - The Future of Banking was an informative read that made the boring topic of banking seem interesting. My main take away is that in the future and even currently, the user experience will play a major role in whether a customer uses your product or not. If the process is cumbersome or hard to use, they will just switch to one that is easier. Take, for instance, signing up for a bank account. It is 2020 and everything should be online, there should be no reason you need to go into a branch to sign a document. It should all be able to be done seamlessly online. Customers today expect it to just "work." In the future, smart assistants like Siri or Cortana will do way more than just tell you the weather or play your favorite songs. It will know everything about you and be able to provide answers that normally would require a much different interaction with humans. Don't get me wrong there is always going to be a case for human interaction and especially for more complex items but take this as the perfect example of how the user experience can change in the future.
Say you want to get a $1million mortgage to buy a house you really like. Today you would walk into your local bank or even go on their website, for example, let's say, Chase. You then fill out all your information and see whether your application is approved and for what terms they will provide you that mortgage. In the future it may be possible for you to say "Hey Siri, can I afford to buy this house I really like that costs $1Million." It will then go through all your bank accounts, investment accounts, and look at your average spending and can come out with something like. "Hello sir, I have analyzed all the potential places for you to get a mortgage, and based on your current situation it looks like M&T can offer you the best terms. Would you like us to submit an application for this mortgage for you?  Also, by the way, I notice you spend $7 every morning at Starbucks, do you really need it every day, it comes out to you spend $1,500 a year. I will be happy to give you a little nug next time you close to one to keep you on track for your goals."
While this is just a fictitious example, it shows the power that smart assistants will have in the future, and people will not be tied to one institution or the other. It is about providing the best experience for the customer. This can be applied to all areas, not just in banking. Companies can choose to either be leaders in their industry or play catch up, but at that point, it may be too late. I believe the user experience while may not be as high tech as those smart assistants, companies should be paying attention to how their products work online or their mobile applications and made them as user friendly as possible. If they do not work well, they may not be around that much longer.
I really enjoyed reading this book and found it thought-provoking. I hope you do as well :) b

[Disnocen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book by Brett Kind which is a highly acclamated best-seller author who works on fintech. The autor co-funded the online/new-tech bank Moven, a bank which would benefit if all the speculations done in the book will happen.

I abandoned this book after reading one chapter (the one on blockchains) and the Preface. In the following I state my own reasons.


## Blockchains
As a researcher in the field, I can say that many of the author's speculations are misplaced. To be honest, the author himself assumes that many of his predictions will be wrong.

I read this section first, because that is what I know already, so I used it to understand the whole tone of the book, how he would handle speculation and if he would write hyped statements. So I am assuming he behaves in same way also on topics I am not knowledgeable about.

My impressions are ("he" means "the author"):

+ he has some technical knowledge on the matter
 + he understands tech/academic papers
 + well connected to people working in the field
 + so probably he does the same for all the other topics
+ he does not say things which are blatantly false
+ still he exagerates
 + he tends to advertise Moven
 + also done in the "About The Author" page
 + he presents things as the only way forward
+ he insists on the same concept for too long
 + it is not dense with information
+ he doesn't talks about risks
 + he is a technophile
 + "everything will be better" attitude
 + there is no impartiality
 + therefore it is not the whole story
+ not a starting point for researching the topic
 + also he can not be used as a reference

## Preface
After reading the blockchain chapter I started reading from the beginning. After reading the preface I decided to leave the book for good:

+ the book is part of a saga: Bank 2.0, 3.0, 4.0
+ according to him, he only made correct predictions
 + there is no intellectual 'honesty'
 + probably too much ego

## Conclusion
Having had a taste of the author's style and personality, I decided to abandon the book. In fact the book is quite long and it didn't give me the idea of being full of information. Furthermore, the author has not shown that he is impartial either at the beginning or at the end of the book.

[Wayne M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brett King's Bank 4.0 is a thought-provoking assessment of both the current state of banking globally as well as the possible futures, and an update of an ongoing narrative from Brett's previous books.

Brett is a practitioner, a theorist and and a visionary, and the book draws on Brett's practical experience in launching a neo-bank, as well as first hand experience as to current trends globally.

The book's format is an overarching narrative with break-out chapters from subject matter experts covering diverse topics such as regulatory compliance, product development, AI and blockchain, which allows the book to canvas a range of perspectives.

Key insights include:
- If incumbents don’t engage in design from first principles they will struggle to remain relevant
- The services historically offered by banks are now the domain of fintech
- Asia and Africa are leapfrogging - or ignoring - the Western banking paradigm
- Artificial Intelligence as the new frontier

[Stephanus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be it a disruption or an opportunity, financial technology will stay to reap greater market share in the next decade. whether the incumbents like it or feel their status quo browbeaten, the sole way to remain relevant at least after 2030 is by changing the business model of banking from product-recommendation sale strategy to utility-based strategy. Plus, changing completely the business model to 100% digital or rolling out more hackatons to stay afloat for upcoming days.

This book is the very first futurist banking book type I ever listed on my annual reading challenge list. at least for me, or other future bankers, this book gives us insights on the life path of banks in the world based on their current coping strategy, and in addition to that, we can personally determine what banks are to work for because your current 'goal' may become redundant in the future.

[Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on banking. It may goes a little extreme claiming the all in belief on technologies. But I think the author has his point, banks is just moving too slow.

Mr. King is able to make his point by citing numerous examples and drawing the right analogy. His recommendations on the actions required are also fresh and original, and in a sense implementable. It will just take some time for his predictions to be fully realized.

[Maria Angelita Widjaja · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is visionary. Mr King shows that the future of banking in the digital era that has to change. The change will be driven by information technology. If bankers and members of the financial sector deny the technological threat, their services could become irrelevant. When it is too late to change, they will become unable to compete with the faster, better, cheaper services which are offered by technology companies. I highly recommend this book!

[Andrew Beatty · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is not often you refer to a book about Banking as a page turner, but Brett’s Bank 4.0 is just that. The vision of the future of banking is clearly laid out and augmented with sections sourced from leading industry experts not just Brett’s own POV. I would absolutely recommend to Bankers and financial services vendors and service providers that they take the time to read this book.

[Filipa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the final installment of the Bank series by Brett King and it couldn't be more appropriate. It's quite fascinating to read about how technology is disrupting many industries and the FSI in particular. New technologies like AI, cloud computing and big data are going to change the face of many different companies. The future is exciting!

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insightful. I can imagine even more so when it came out a couple of years ago. Basic message is that in order to survive from competition from agile competitors like Fintechs, banks need to focus on experience and digital capabilities. 3 stars is for the writing. Content is good, but many parts repeat. I think only 4-5 chapters are worth keeping.

[Prabhakar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Starts promisingly. But loses its way and same song repeats, that branches are not required, kodak moment, fintech will kill banks. In the middle, the tone is Banks should invest in Fintech (personal agenda?) Even if one reads last 1/2 chapters it's the same, but with lot of negative tone.
Slightly old for today's times, already obsolete in some respect.

[Mauro Di Buono · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a great book in my opinion, very thought provoking as the author gives different point of views about how fintech / tech fin is evolving and will evolve in the future. I give it a 4 just because he is too bullish on China and slightly biased on some topics. Overall though it is a super interesting read!

[PhuongVu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book. Life is so fast paced nowadays, if i dont keep learning and improving, I will be left.
This book give me a pool of new knowledge and information. It changes my mind about the future. It also raise some questions in my mind about which jobs are future jobs?
If you work in Finance-Banking, you should not ignore this book.

[Ning-Jia Ong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brett King's "first principle thinking" approach was very eye opening. He has plenty of bold statements and predictions about the future of banking and it really helps the reader have a peak into the future through his lens. I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did.

[Igor Pejic · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is the future of banks? Thought-provoking book taking readers to cutting-edge fintech use-cases around the world. Featuring chapters by prominent experts such as Chris Skinner and Spiros Margaris.

[Norafandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for those who are planning for Digital Banking Transformation journey.

[Levent Ozokutucu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about disruptive change in the banking industry

[Harry Su · Rating 4 out of 5]

Match my mental model that US financial service is lacking behind from countries such as China, where mobile payment has become the norm. However, some parts are repeated in the book.

[Nayr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dibaca dari perspektif tahun 2025

Buku Bank 4.0 terbit pada tahun 2018, tetapi banyak sekali prediksinya yang tepat menggambarkan kondisi perbankan tahun 2025–2030. Saat membacanya sekarang, saya merasa seperti melihat catatan masa depan yang akhirnya benar-benar terjadi. Buku ini menjelaskan bagaimana perbankan akan bergerak menuju dunia di mana layanan bank tidak lagi bergantung pada cabang atau kantor fisik, tetapi hadir di mana saja, kapan saja, dan melekat pada kehidupan sehari-hari.

1. Banking Everywhere: Perbankan Bisa Dilakukan di Mana Saja
Salah satu ide utama buku ini adalah bahwa aktivitas perbankan tidak perlu lagi dilakukan di kantor cabang. Pembukaan rekening, transaksi, dan layanan lainnya bisa sepenuhnya dilakukan dari ponsel.
Di 2025, kita bisa melihat prediksi ini sudah menjadi kenyataan — hampir semua bank sudah menyediakan onboarding full digital, dan intensitas masyarakat ke cabang menurun drastis.

2. Inovasi KYC: Tidak Lagi Sekadar Foto KTP
Buku ini memprediksi bahwa KYC di masa depan bisa saja memanfaatkan data dari media sosial sebagai validation layer. Secara teori menarik karena media sosial memiliki data perilaku yang sangat kaya.

Namun, dari perspektif 2025, prediksi ini sulit diwujudkan. Platform sosial kini penuh akun palsu, pengguna tidak selalu menampilkan dirinya secara autentik, dan kualitas datanya makin “kotor”. Justru tren sekarang bergerak ke arah identity verification yang lebih ketat, bukan longgar.

3. Evolusi Kredit: Dari Dokumen Manual ke Behaviour-Based Scoring
Dulu, pengajuan kredit memakan waktu lama: harus mengumpulkan dokumen, menunggu approval berhari-hari, dan tetap ada kemungkinan ditolak.

Brett King memprediksi bahwa kredit akan bergeser ke sistem penilaian berbasis behavior dan transaction profile, bukan dokumen.
Dan ini terbukti banyak bank dan fintech 2025 sudah menggunakan pola transaksi, spending behavior, hingga pembayaran tagihan untuk menentukan eligibility dan limit kredit. Proses menjadi jauh lebih cepat dan akurat.

4. Voice + AI sebagai Antarmuka Finansial Baru
Penulis menyebut bahwa penggunaan voice assistant dan AI akan menjadi signifikan. Cek saldo via suara, rekomendasi barang berdasarkan saldo, membantu financial planning.
Memang, beberapa reviewer menganggap buku ini penuh “buzzword AI”. Tapi dari sudut pandang 2025, perkiraannya justru terbukti. AI ada di mana-mana dan telah menjadi alat sehari-hari. Menariknya, buku ini masih fokus pada Google dan Amazon, padahal sekarang pasar didominasi oleh OpenAI dan berbagai pemain AI dari Tiongkok.

5. Regulasi yang Melekat pada Sistem (Embedded Regulation)
Buku ini membahas bagaimana regulator di masa depan tidak lagi mengandalkan pengecekan manual, tetapi aturan akan tertanam langsung dalam algoritma dan sistem bank.
Contohnya: penetapan limit otomatis agar sesuai aturan, rule-based engine untuk pencegahan fraud atau transaksi mencurigakan

Tren ini juga sudah terlihat sekarang di mana compliance officer lebih fokus pada rule setting dibanding manual checking.

6. Kolaborasi Bank dan Fintech
Brett King menekankan bahwa bank adalah institusi besar yang bergerak lambat; inovasi internal sulit dilakukan cepat. Karena itu ia merekomendasikan kerja sama erat dengan fintech untuk mempercepat inovasi.

Prediksi ini juga terbukti: Fintech bisa pivot cepat, R&D lebih ringan, dan bisa membantu bank menekan biaya pengembangan fitur baru. Kolaborasi bank–fintech menjadi salah satu cara paling efektif untuk mengejar kebutuhan pasar.

7. Blockchain Tidak Hanya untuk Transaksi
Buku ini memprediksi bahwa blockchain akan digunakan melebihi transaksi aset kripto, termasuk sebagai media penyimpanan file terdesentralisasi. Saat ini memang mulai terlihat proyek-proyek yang bergerak ke arah tersebut, meski adopsinya belum masif.

Kesimpulan Pribadi
Saya sangat menikmati buku ini. Dibaca dari perspektif 2025, banyak prediksi Brett King yang sudah menjadi kenyataan dan terasa lumrah sekarang. Beberapa hal bahkan melampaui ekspektasi awal penulis. Buku ini memberikan gambaran jelas bahwa masa depan perbankan bukan hanya soal digitalisasi, tapi transformasi penuh menjadi layanan yang hadir di mana saja dan kapan saja.

[Mr Hưng · Rating 4 out of 5]

Một góc nhìn táo bạo về tương lai của ngành tài chính ngân hàng.
*
Ba điều tôi thích ở cuốn sách này:
- Góc nhìn táo bạo về những thay đổi trong hệ thống ngân hàng, phá bỏ những nền tảng cũ kỹ và chậm chạp của các tổ chức hiện tại.
- Đánh giá rất cao giá trị của công nghệ trong việc chuyển đổi triệt để ngành tài chính.
- Nhiều câu chuyện thực tế rất thú vị về các mô hình tài chính mới trên thế giới, để mình biết được là trên thế giới người ta đang làm những gì rồi.
Là một người làm công nghệ, trong ngành tài chính, nên tôi thấy nội dung của cuốn sách này khá là liên đới đến bản thân mình. Và với kinh nghiệm hạn chế của mình, tôi cũng vẫn thấy đồng tình với những nhận định và góc nhìn táo bạo của tác giả. Cũng tin rằng ngành tài chính đang chuẩn bị cho một cú chuyển mình mới, thay đổi hoàn toàn trải nghiệm tài chính của mọi người trên thế giới này.
Nhưng, chữ nhưng vẫn còn ở đây, quá trình này sẽ còn lâu dài lắm. Chưa phải sáng mai dậy là thấy ngân hàng khác đi liền đâu. Hệ thống tài chính hiện tại rất lớn, rất cồng kềnh, và cũng vẫn đang kiếm ra tiền. Nên những người chủ vẫn sẽ duy trì hệ thống này dài dài, họ không có động lực rõ ràng để phải chuyển đổi sang mô hình "4.0" như tác giả đề xuất. Thay đổi sẽ đến từ từ, có thể từ các công ty khởi nghiệp, hoặc từ những bộ phận nhỏ của các công ty tài chính muốn làm đổi mới. Sự chuyển dịch sẽ diễn ra từ từ, nhưng chắc chắn. Và đến một lúc nào đó, tôi và bạn không th�� biết trước được là lúc nào, nhưng chắc chắn sẽ đến lúc đó, sự chuyển dịch sẽ diễn ra quá nhanh mà các công ty tài chính cồng kềnh cũ kỹ không kịp trở tay và sụp đổ dây chuyền. Và sau đó, bạn và tôi sẽ có những trải nghiệm tài chính đúng nghĩa 4.0 từ ngay trên giường của mình.
*
Đấy là nói chuyện thế giới, chứ ở VN mình thì chịu, tôi không có dự đoán nào cả. Nhưng sách vẫn hay và vẫn khuyến đọc cho tất cả mọi người làm trong lĩnh vực tài chính và khởi nghiệp nhé.

[Dillon Butvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aye. I went back and forth on 3 or 4 stars for this one because maybe I'm the wrong audience? Maybe the audience is bank executives that don't understand tech. As someone who understands tech but wanted more info on banking, this was not ideal for me.

There are not a lot of specifics on banking nor what exactly to do next. There are a few items:

1) Move to service and distribution instead of products.
2) Partner with FinTechs and TechFins instead of trying to build in house.
3) Change regulations (use your partnerships with FinTechs to do so)
4) Shift from demographic targeting to contextual notification targeting
5) Reduce friction
6) For all of the above banks will need first principles design thinking (this is the main point, I should've put it first)

It took about 150 pages too long to say this (with a personal endorsement thrown in for a good 20 pages). The book is also a little disjointed with guest authors and other articles thrown in, which leads to A LOT of redundancy. About 150 pages worth.

All that said, the guy does seem to know where the industry is going in general and what execs should have in mind to get there. So 3 stars.

Oh, also, this thing is RIDDLED with spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. Makes me think it's much more of a promotional endorsement for him and his company than an actual use case book.

[Anjar Priandoyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The bad things about this book, just like other reviewer mention when somebody trying to predict the future, it will be fail. Another things at the beginning, this book supposed to be Bank 4.0, but its start about Elon Musk, Steve Jobs and Jack Ma, it seems a bit unrelated. The chapters structured as follows:

Ch1: Innovation
Ch2: Regulation
Ch3: Embedded Banking: AI
Ch4: Experience Banking
Ch5: Blockchain, so 2018, and difficult to explain
Ch6: Fintech: I don't get it
Ch7: AI
Ch8: Experience
Ch9: Conclusion
Ch10: Roadmap

Chapter 9 tells everything about the bank 1) power is consolidated, 2) core legacy dependency, 3) trust. Chapter 10 contain many "wrong" prediction, such as by 2025 the biggest deposit-taking is bigtech

The good things about this book, is that the book is written by the expert in banking. Thats why they can explain the current problem and challenges for the bank. Banking industry basically a representation of the state. That is why in the second chapter of Bank 4.0 is emphasizing on regulation (Innovation, AML/KYC). Another good explanation is on difficultly to describe bitcoin. A money is difficult to describe, of course bit coin (currency, marketplace, exchange, payment network, assets, or tools)

[Peckham Alun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent. It starts off great with many great points brought up about how Banking is changing and about how we should be cautious and adapt. However, it comes across very preachy and too optimistic/delusional. Mentioning voice payments for future transactions. Though it is possible, the author doesn't go into detail about why these new amazing technologies will replace the old legacy technology but just preaches its benefits. The author is highly speculative and doesn't provide concrete data or evidence and just says it should and will happen. Although, I will still rate three stars because the book takes the reader into an inquisitive journey about the future of banking and there are many points that I will take with me. It is the way the author brings his points across that makes the book slightly intolerable, but if you are looking for a source of knowledge about future technologies, definitely give this book a read.

[Jagordo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I pity whoever goes to read this, excited to hear of new and interesting insights, only to have the author repeat the obvious issues the financial industry is facing, fail to come up with any new perspectives, and gripe over how his own digital bank lost business from traditional banks for 336 pages.

If you have any experience with banks — whether you are a consumer or employee of one — and have read at least 3 to 5 WSJ articles on Fintech and finance, you will almost certainly not glean anything new from this book.