For over a decade, the narrative has been clear: fintechs are disruptors, and banks are the disrupted. But in 2025, that dynamic is rapidly evolving. Instead of rivalry, the new trend is collaboration — with traditional financial institutions increasingly partnering with agile fintech startups to co-create value, accelerate innovation, and stay relevant in a digital-first economy.
The End of the “Us vs Them” Era
Just five years ago, many banks viewed fintechs as existential threats — lean, tech-savvy competitors who could outpace legacy players through sleek apps, instant onboarding, and personalized experiences. Fintechs, in turn, saw banks as slow-moving, regulation-burdened giants.
But this adversarial stance is dissolving. Today, more than 70% of global banks have formal partnerships with fintech companies, according to a recent McKinsey report. The logic is simple: fintechs bring innovation and speed, while banks offer trust, infrastructure, and regulatory licenses. Together, they can do what neither could alone.
What’s Driving the Shift?
1. Customer Expectations Have Changed
Digital-native consumers expect real-time services, seamless mobile experiences, and personalized financial products. Traditional banks, often held back by legacy core systems and bureaucratic processes, struggle to meet these demands alone. Partnering with fintechs helps them bridge the innovation gap quickly.
2. Regulatory Pressure and Open Banking
The rise of open banking regulations — particularly in Europe — has forced traditional banks to open their APIs and collaborate with third parties. Fintechs are natural API consumers, offering specialized tools like identity verification, payment orchestration, and lending engines that banks can integrate instead of building from scratch.
3. Innovation at Scale
Banks realize that fintechs aren’t just competitors — they’re accelerators. From embedded finance to AI-powered credit scoring, partnerships allow banks to experiment without endangering their core operations. It’s a sandbox with real commercial potential.
Real-World Examples
- JP Morgan Chase has partnered with multiple fintechs like OnDeck and Plaid to enhance its small business and consumer banking experience.
- BBVA invested heavily in Atom Bank (UK) and Solaris (Germany), leveraging them to test mobile-only banking models.
- In the EU and UK, EMIs and banking providers increasingly rely on platforms like Finhost.io to launch white-label digital banking and crypto solutions without investing in years of development.
Why Banks Choose Finhost-Type Partners
Platforms like Finhost offer a plug-and-play digital banking infrastructure that merges the best of both worlds:
- Regulatory compliance and licensing models (EMD agent, IBAN issuance)
- Pre-built modules: crypto wallets, SEPA, SWIFT, cards, KYC/AML
- Modular architecture to fit legacy or greenfield setups
In other words, banks don’t need to reinvent themselves — they just need the right infrastructure partner.
The New Model: Fintech-as-a-Service (FaaS)
Fintech is no longer just an app; it’s an infrastructure layer. This is what Finhost and similar BaaS/FaaS platforms provide: a way for banks to roll out new products — from digital euro wallets to tokenized loyalty programs — faster, cheaper, and with lower risk.
It’s no surprise that “build vs buy” has been replaced by “partner smart”.
What’s Next?
The next frontier is co-branded financial ecosystems, where banks and fintechs jointly serve niches like freelancers, cross-border workers, or crypto traders. Expect to see:
- Fintech-led UX with bank-backed trust
- Shared KYC databases and open API ecosystems
- Banking features embedded into non-financial apps
Final Thoughts
The battle between banks and fintechs is over — and no one won. Instead, the ecosystem has matured into a partnership economy, where cooperation fuels innovation and growth.
For banks, the question is no longer if they should partner with fintechs, but how fast they can do it before the next wave of change arrives.
About Finhost
Finhost is a white-label digital banking and crypto infrastructure platform that enables fintechs, EMIs, and banks to launch secure, scalable, and compliant financial products across Europe and beyond.
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