Branchless Banking is an entirely new business model

1) Awareness of the disruptive innovation characteristics of branchless banking

As a business scheme, branchless banking carries all the characteristics of Clayton Christensen’s (1997) definition of disruptive innovation. This classification mandates the need to need to collectively and consciously recognise branchless banking as such. Managers will need also to be mindful on the implication of branchless banking’s disruptiveness on their organisation’s strategy, process, and most importantly, values and paradigms.

2) Creation of a new branchless banking business model

In congruence to point 1, in most cases organisations will need to devise an entirely new business model for their new branchless banking business. Note that the ‘new business’ is the operative word here. Too often banks try to jumble branchless banking business into the existing electronic banking channel, which I will argue will eventually result in a conflict.

3) Establishment of a fully empowered corporate venturing unit tasked at implementing the new business

It’s possible that traditional banking bureaucracy might kill a branchless project early. Thus, it will be necessary to form a flexible, empowered, and well-endowed ‘corporate venturing’ unit tasked at rapidly developing and bringing the new product to market, while maintaining the option of integrating it back into the core business later on.