Banking is Local – Volume 01

Back in 1661, Sweden made history by issuing Europe’s first paper banknotes. Today, the country is on the verge of eliminating cash altogether, and the trigger was not consumer demand or a global trend. It was a wave of violent bank robberies in the 1990s.

Every banking market has a local root, a specific moment, a regulation, a cultural arrangement, that sent it down its own path. Across six countries on four continents, the same surface-level forces appear: digital adoption, mobile payments, financial inclusion, the retreat of cash. And yet the outcomes are completely different, because the histories that produced them were never the same.

This is Volume 01 of Banking is Local, six countries, six different answers to the same question: what does banking look like when it is shaped by where it comes from?

France – How neobanks are disrupting traditional banking, or are they?

The rapid rise of neobanks in France since the 2008 financial crisis has revolutionized how consumers are banking and managing their money. While the financial crisis kicked off the neobank trend, it was the Covid pandemic lockdowns that cemented the fintech sector’s innovative banking solutions, as physical branches closed and millions of people worldwide switched their financial lives online.

Yet local regulations also favor traditional banks, which continue to dominate digital banking by leveraging their established customer bases and infrastructure. The seeds of digital banking in France were planted after the 2008 crisis and in the 2010s, traditional banks responded to shifting consumer expectations by launching digital subsidiaries. Leading the way is Société Générale’s BoursoBank, the biggest online bank in France with 7 million customers, and BNP Paribas subsidiaries Nickel and Hello bank!, all leveraging their parent companies’ resources to establish a strong foothold in the digital banking market. So who is really disrupting whom in France’s banking market? Download the ebook to read the full article.

Sweden – The cashless revolution, is this the end of paper money?

The country that gave the world its first paper banknotes in 1661 is now moving steadily away from cash altogether and the trigger was not consumer demand or a fintech wave. It was a spate of robberies in the 1990s that set Sweden on its cashless path, pushing its banking sector to systematically phase out physical currency and never look back. According to the Swedish central bank, only 8% of the population used cash in 2022, and the amount of physical currency in circulation has dropped by half since 2007.

With digital wallets, instant mobile transfers, and biometric identification, daily transactions in Sweden have become almost entirely virtual. This rapid shift raises new concerns from digital fraud to financial exclusion prompting officials to ask a pressing question: how to build a cashless society that works for everyone? Download the ebook to read the full article.

United Kingdom – Building societies: Adapting a unique model for the digital age

The first building society in the UK began in 1755, when a Birmingham-based pub landlord placed a tankard on the bar to collect patrons’ money. The aim was for members to financially empower themselves by pooling their finances to purchase land and build homes. Today, there are 43 active building societies in the UK, serving about 25 million members and collectively managing £525 billion in assets.

The member-owned model of building societies prioritizes service before profit returning surpluses to members through better savings interest rates or community initiatives, rather than going to external shareholders. Their current share of UK high street branches is 30%, more than double the 14% they had in 2012.

But almost half of building society members report difficulties engaging with their services and younger consumers are increasingly choosing challenger and neobanks instead. Can a 270-year-old model adapt without losing what makes it different? Download the ebook to read the full article.

Vietnam – How super apps are driving Vietnam’s mobile payments sector

Since the 1970s, Vietnam’s banking sector has been dominated by state-owned commercial banks. However, it is now undergoing a digital transformation underscored by collaboration and innovation that is reshaping how millions of people access financial services.

Vietnam’s modern banking system emerged in 1976 with the formation of the State Bank of Vietnam. For the next decade, it functioned as a mono-bank system, a single institution handling all banking activities. The Đổi Mới reforms of 1986 introduced market-oriented policies, opening the door to private banks and foreign institutions. But perhaps the sector’s most significant transformation is the rapid shift to digital banking and mobile payments, driven by a young, mobile-first population and strong government support.

Founded in 2007, MoMo has helped to revolutionize the country’s mobile payments sector, evolving from an e-wallet to an AI-powered, all-in-one financial services app with more than 31 million users and 140,000 payment acceptance points nationwide. How did a state-controlled system create the conditions for all of this? Download the ebook to read the full article.

Côte d’Ivoire – The rise of Côte d’Ivoire as West Africa’s financial hub

Côte d’Ivoire has emerged as the banking and financial services hub of West Africa, driven by a hybrid model of traditional banking services, mobile money, and fintech platforms. Today, the country holds a third of all banking assets in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), accounting for the largest share among the eight-member bloc at 33.7%.

Abidjan’s journey as the financial hub of West Africa has been decades in the making, beginning with the launch of the African Development Bank in the city in 1965. Yet despite the scale of the formal banking sector, an estimated 80% of household savings in 2020 were still held outside of traditional banks, reflecting the continued importance of cash, community savings groups, and informal financial arrangements. That informal culture was not displaced by mobile money; it was given infrastructure. Today, 70% of adults use at least one mobile money service. How did a country build one of the region’s most dynamic financial ecosystems by working with local realities, rather than importing foreign models? Download the ebook to read the full article.

Australia – How Bank@Post transforms banking access

The rate of bank branch closures in Australia has increased significantly since the 1980s. In 1993, the country boasted over 7,000 bank branches. Since 2017, more than 2,100 bank branches have been shuttered, a 39% reduction, significantly impacting rural and remote Indigenous communities. The Big Four banks now control more than 70% of the market.

But as the digital transformation and closure of physical bank branches continued, another service quietly emerged. In 1995, Australia Post began offering basic banking services through what is now known as Bank@Post. Today, more than 3,300 post offices offer the service including 1,800 in rural and remote areas covering more than 80 banks and financial institutions. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia, 95% of Australians now live within 5.9km of a Bank@Post outlet.

The answer to Australia’s financial inclusion crisis wasn’t a neobank or a fintech. It was the post office. How did that happen and what does it mean for every other country facing the same wave of branch closures? Download the ebook to read the full article.

Banking is Local

What connects France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Côte d’Ivoire, and Australia runs deeper than any shared technology or common regulatory moment. In each of these markets, the financial system people use today was shaped by forces that predate any app, any platform, any fintech wave: a pub landlord in 1755 Birmingham, a wave of robberies in 1990s Stockholm, decades of informal savings culture passed between generations in Abidjan. Technology arrived later, and it raised the stakes.

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