We need to imagine a future of collaborative bank-fintech partnerships 

Long-term partnerships between banks and fintechs are the real future of financial services, writes Nigel Morris, of QED Investors.Adobe Stock Symbiotic relationships in the world of business are everywhere you look.Brick-and-mortar retailers have gained access to a wider customer base through partnerships with e-commerce platforms. In turn, businesses like Amazon benefit from a more diverse set of products, as they not only sell their own Amazon-branded items but act as a marketplace to sell a wider range of third-party goods.Some of the world’s largest tech companies like Microsoft, Meta and Google have fostered partnerships with universities in a mutually beneficial exchange of cutting-edge research and talent flow for funding and real-world applications of academic programs.And health insurance companies partner with wellness program providers to offer incentives for healthy living to their members. Insurers reduce health care costs and improve member health outcomes, while wellness providers gain a larger audience for their services.But when it comes to bank-fintech partnerships, there is no better parallel than Big Pharma’s symbiosis with contract research organizations, or CROs — a group that undertakes research projects and clinical trials on behalf of pharmaceutical and biotech companies.For pharmaceutical companies, CROs are an essential part of their operating model, allowing them to focus on what they do best — scaled production and distribution of drugs and medical products — while outsourcing the labor-intensive phases of drug development to specialized experts.Big Pharma reaps substantial benefits from this arrangement. Leveraging CROs’ expertise, geographical reach and scalability, they can accelerate time-to-market, reduce costs and mitigate development risks. Compliance is complicated, but CROs are experts.In turn, CROs thrive on long-term contracts and steady revenue streams, enabling them to invest in cutting-edge technologies. This mutually beneficial relationship has become a cornerstone of modern drug development, ensuring that new therapies reach patients faster and more efficiently.Banks and fintechs can embrace a similar framework if they understand that these relationships are accretive.The fintech landscape can be segmented into three buckets — those that are in direct competition with banks; those that enable banks to do what they do better; and those that do things banks could do but decide not to.It raises the question: How many incumbent banks have both the technology budget and the know-how needed to stay relevant with modern customer expectations?U.S. banks have brands, they’re replete with deposits and they have trust as a result of federal deposit insurance. They have substantial customer bases and proprietary data, but they also have a culture of defense and a reluctance to self-disrupt and innovate.By contrast, fintechs have technical dexterity, terrific user experiences and talent that is long on ver