'Open finance' seen as essential for positive customer experience. (Marketing News).

"The future...belongs to those [financial institutions] that retain their own Label on some products and offer the customers competitive products as well."

These provocative words come from the "2001 Special Report on the Financial Services Industry" by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. Under a list of key trends in the financial services industry, Cap Gemini observes that "open finance" has become a necessity for those that want to orchestrate customer experiences. By "open finance," Cap Gemini believes that banks need to offer all products and services to their customers no matter the origin-as long as they can earn a profit on the relationship.

"How can...an organization justify an emphasis on its own products when customers are demanding 'best-of-breed'?" the report asks.

Cap Gemini observes that a Limited number of financial institutions today are offering products from the competition and relabeling these products with their proprietary logo. "Nevertheless, the vast majority of financial services institutions are still unwilling or unable to make the shift to selling competing products and services."