Banks in 2025: How Technology Is Rewriting Revenue Models
A New Era for Banking Revenue
By 2025, the global banking industry has moved decisively beyond the traditional spread between deposits and loans as its dominant profit engine, and for the audience of BizFactsDaily.com, which closely follows developments in Artificial Intelligence, Banking, Crypto, Economy, and Technology, the most important story is not that banks are digitizing, but that they are fundamentally re-architecting how they make money. Revenue models that once relied heavily on net interest income and a narrow set of fees are being replaced or supplemented by technology-driven income streams, platform-based ecosystems, data monetization, embedded finance, and partnerships that would have seemed improbable only a decade ago. This shift is not uniform across regions, but from the United States and United Kingdom to Germany, Singapore, and Brazil, the same pattern emerges: technology is no longer just a channel; it is the core of the business model and the main driver of new revenue lines.
For readers who follow banking and macro trends through resources such as the Bank for International Settlements, understanding how banks are recalibrating their revenue mix is increasingly critical to assessing resilience, competitiveness, and long-term valuation. Learn more about how these shifts intersect with broader economic dynamics on the BizFactsDaily hub for economy and macro trends. The strategic question facing boards and executives today is not whether to adopt technology, but how deeply to embed it into the revenue architecture without undermining trust, regulatory compliance, and financial stability.
From Interest Margins to Platform Economics
Historically, banks in North America, Europe, and Asia relied on a straightforward model: gather deposits at a low cost, lend at a higher rate, and capture the spread. As reported by McKinsey & Company, net interest income has long accounted for the majority of bank revenues in many markets, with fee and commission income providing a secondary but important contribution. However, since the low-rate environment of the 2010s and early 2020s, combined with intense competition from fintechs and big tech firms, banks have been forced to rethink their dependence on interest margins and standard fees, especially in markets such as Japan, the Eurozone, and Switzerland, where rates were compressed for extended periods.
This change has pushed leading institutions such as JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, BNP Paribas, DBS Bank, and Banco Santander to invest in platforms and ecosystems where they can earn fee-based revenues from services rather than solely from balance-sheet-driven lending. The shift is evident in the rise of marketplace banking, where banks host third-party products, and in the growth of subscription models for premium digital services. Readers can follow the evolution of these business models and their market implications on BizFactsDaily's banking insights page, which tracks how incumbents and challengers are reshaping the financial landscape.
The result is a new focus on platform economics, where the value of the network and the quality of data become as important as the size of the loan book, and where banks increasingly see themselves as orchestrators of financial ecosystems rather than mere balance sheet providers. This is particularly evident in regions like Singapore and South Korea, where digital banks and super-apps have set new benchmarks for customer engagement and cross-selling.
Artificial Intelligence as a Revenue Engine
Artificial intelligence has moved from being a back-office efficiency tool to a front-line revenue driver. According to PwC, AI could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, and banking is among the sectors with the highest potential upside from AI-driven productivity and personalization. For banks in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and across Europe and Asia, the monetization of AI now extends across the customer lifecycle, from acquisition to cross-sell and retention.
AI-driven personalization engines enable banks to offer highly targeted products, such as micro-investment portfolios, dynamic credit lines, and tailored insurance add-ons, based on real-time analysis of transaction histories, behavioral patterns, and external data. These capabilities are transforming traditional fee income into more granular, usage-based revenue streams. Learn more about how AI is reshaping financial services and other sectors on BizFactsDaily's dedicated artificial intelligence section, which tracks developments in generative AI, predictive analytics, and automation.
In markets like Germany, France, and the Netherlands, where regulatory scrutiny under frameworks such as the EU's AI Act is particularly high, banks are also leveraging AI in risk management and compliance, turning what was once a cost center into a differentiating capability that can be commercialized through white-label risk analytics or RegTech partnerships. The European Commission provides detailed information on evolving AI regulations, and banks that master compliant AI deployment can not only protect themselves from fines but also generate revenue by offering compliant AI-based solutions to smaller institutions and corporate clients. For BizFactsDaily's global readers, this convergence of AI, regulation, and revenue is a central theme in understanding competitive advantage in 2025.
Embedded Finance and Banking-as-a-Service
One of the most significant revenue innovations in recent years has been the growth of embedded finance and Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), where banks provide regulated infrastructure and APIs to non-bank brands, fintechs, and digital platforms. Instead of competing solely for end customers, banks increasingly earn revenue from enabling others to offer financial services inside non-financial contexts such as e-commerce, mobility, travel, and software-as-a-service platforms. The World Economic Forum has highlighted embedded finance as a structural trend that is blurring industry boundaries and creating new profit pools.
In the United States, banks such as Goldman Sachs have experimented with BaaS partnerships, while in Europe, institutions like BBVA and Solaris have built extensive API-based ecosystems. These banks earn revenue through service fees, interchange, and revenue-sharing arrangements, while minimizing customer acquisition costs, as the distribution is handled by partners. For readers tracking innovation in this space, BizFactsDaily's innovation coverage explores how incumbents and fintechs collaborate and compete across regions including Asia, Africa, and South America.
Embedded finance is particularly relevant in growth markets such as Brazil, India, Malaysia, and South Africa, where mobile-first consumers are accessing financial services primarily through super-apps and digital marketplaces rather than traditional bank branches. By providing the underlying accounts, payments, lending, and compliance capabilities, banks can monetize their licenses and infrastructure at scale, even when their brand is not visible to the end user. This model, however, requires robust technology platforms, rigorous risk management, and thoughtful partner selection to avoid reputational and compliance risks.
Data Monetization and Advanced Analytics
Banks have always held rich data, but in 2025 they are finally beginning to convert this asset into sustainable, compliant revenue streams. Through advanced analytics, machine learning, and privacy-preserving technologies, banks are developing new services such as benchmarking tools for corporate clients, real-time cash-flow analytics for small and medium-sized enterprises, and anonymized market insights for institutional investors. The OECD has emphasized the economic value of data and the need for robust governance frameworks, which are particularly relevant as banks explore monetization models that must balance innovation with privacy and security.
In markets like the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Nordic countries including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, open banking and open finance regulations have accelerated this trend by requiring banks to share customer-permissioned data with third parties via APIs. While this initially seemed like a threat, forward-looking institutions have turned it into an opportunity by building premium data and analytics services that go beyond regulatory minimums. Readers can explore how these developments intersect with broader technology and regulatory shifts on BizFactsDaily's technology insights page, which analyzes how digital infrastructure is reshaping industries.
In Asia-Pacific markets such as Singapore, Japan, and Thailand, regulators have encouraged experimentation with data-sharing frameworks in controlled environments, often through regulatory sandboxes. Banks participating in these initiatives are learning how to price data-driven services, structure revenue-sharing agreements, and design consent mechanisms that maintain customer trust. For BizFactsDaily's audience of investors and executives, understanding how data is being converted into revenue, while remaining compliant with frameworks such as the EU's GDPR and California's CCPA, is essential to assessing the scalability and defensibility of new banking business models.
Digital Assets, Crypto, and Tokenization
Although the crypto market has experienced cycles of exuberance and correction, by 2025 digital assets and tokenization have become integral to the strategic agenda of many banks, particularly in Switzerland, Singapore, Germany, and the United States. Rather than focusing solely on volatile cryptocurrencies, banks are exploring stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and the tokenization of real-world assets such as bonds, real estate, and trade finance instruments. The Bank for International Settlements and the International Monetary Fund have both published extensive analyses on how tokenization and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could reshape payment systems and capital markets, providing a macroeconomic context for bank strategies.
For BizFactsDaily readers who follow developments in digital assets, the site's crypto and digital asset coverage offers ongoing analysis of how regulatory frameworks, market infrastructure, and institutional adoption are evolving globally. In Europe, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation is providing greater clarity on how banks can operate in this space, while in Asia, jurisdictions like Hong Kong and Singapore are positioning themselves as regulated hubs for institutional digital asset activity. Banks that build custody, trading, and tokenization platforms can earn new fee income from institutional and high-net-worth clients seeking secure, compliant access to this asset class.
At the same time, tokenization is enabling new forms of capital formation and secondary market liquidity, which in turn create opportunities for transaction-based revenue. For example, tokenized green bonds and sustainability-linked instruments allow banks to combine their expertise in structured finance with new digital distribution channels. Readers interested in how these innovations intersect with capital markets can follow BizFactsDaily's stock markets analysis, which tracks how tokenization and digital exchanges are influencing equity and debt trading around the world.
Sustainable Finance and ESG-Linked Income
As climate risk and social impact move to the center of regulatory and investor agendas, sustainable finance has become a major source of new revenue for banks across Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa. According to BloombergNEF, global sustainable debt issuance, including green, social, and sustainability-linked bonds, has grown rapidly over the past decade, creating significant fee income for arranging, underwriting, and structuring these instruments. Banks that have developed deep expertise in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) analysis are now able to offer advisory services, ESG-linked lending products, and sustainability-linked derivatives that generate premium pricing and long-term client relationships.
For BizFactsDaily's audience, which closely follows sustainable business trends, the site's sustainable business section provides insights into how financial institutions and corporates are aligning revenue models with climate and social goals. Learn more about sustainable finance frameworks and taxonomies through resources from the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative and the International Finance Corporation, which help define what qualifies as green or sustainable in different jurisdictions. In markets such as the European Union, the sustainable finance taxonomy and disclosure rules are pushing banks to be more transparent about how they generate ESG-related income, reinforcing trust and accountability.
In emerging markets like South Africa, Brazil, and Malaysia, sustainable finance is also intertwined with financial inclusion and infrastructure development, creating opportunities for banks to earn revenue from blended finance structures, development finance partnerships, and impact-linked instruments. These models often involve collaboration with multilateral development banks and impact investors, highlighting how banks can leverage their structuring capabilities and local market knowledge to attract global capital and earn advisory and arrangement fees.
Global and Regional Variations in Tech-Driven Revenue
While the overall direction of travel is clear, the pace and shape of revenue model transformation vary significantly by region, reflecting differences in regulation, technology infrastructure, competition, and customer behavior. In the United States and Canada, large universal banks combine traditional balance-sheet businesses with tech-enabled fee income from wealth management, investment banking, payments, and digital services, while regional and community banks explore partnerships and BaaS models to remain competitive. In Europe, fragmentation and regulatory complexity encourage cross-border consolidation and specialization, with some banks focusing on transaction banking and others on digital retail platforms.
In Asia, particularly in China, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan, the interplay between banks, big tech platforms, and digital-only challengers has led to highly innovative revenue models, including super-app ecosystems, digital wealth platforms, and cross-border payments networks. The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the People's Bank of China provide useful insights into how regulators in the region are shaping these developments. For readers interested in how these dynamics play out globally, BizFactsDaily's global business coverage tracks cross-regional trends, from open banking in Europe to digital ID ecosystems in Asia and mobile money innovations in Africa.
In Africa and parts of South America, including Kenya, Nigeria, Brazil, and Colombia, mobile-first banking and fintech partnerships have created new revenue opportunities centered on payments, remittances, micro-lending, and merchant services, often leapfrogging legacy infrastructure. Banks in these regions are monetizing agent networks, digital wallets, and merchant acquiring services, while also exploring cross-border remittance corridors that generate fee income and foreign exchange revenue. For BizFactsDaily readers tracking emerging market innovation, these regions offer a glimpse of future models that may later influence developed markets.
Talent, Founders, and the New Banking Culture
Behind every successful revenue transformation is a shift in culture, talent, and leadership. Banks that are successfully monetizing technology are increasingly recruiting and empowering leaders with backgrounds in startups, big tech, and digital product management. The rise of internal venture studios, innovation labs, and fintech partnerships reflects a recognition that traditional hierarchical structures are ill-suited to rapid experimentation and product iteration. BizFactsDaily's founders-focused content often highlights how entrepreneurial mindsets are entering the banking sector, whether through neobank founders joining incumbents or through joint ventures between banks and technology entrepreneurs.
This talent shift is not limited to innovation teams; it extends to risk, compliance, marketing, and operations, where data literacy and digital fluency are becoming core competencies. Organizations such as MIT Sloan School of Management and INSEAD have documented how digital transformation in financial services requires new leadership models that balance agility with governance. For banks, the ability to attract and retain technologists, data scientists, and product managers is directly linked to their capacity to design, launch, and scale new revenue-generating services.
At the same time, regulators in key jurisdictions, including the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and the Financial Conduct Authority, are scrutinizing how banks govern their use of technology, especially AI and cloud computing. This scrutiny reinforces the importance of robust governance frameworks and clear accountability, ensuring that the pursuit of new revenue does not compromise safety, soundness, or consumer protection.
Marketing, Distribution, and the Digital Customer Journey
As banks build new tech-enabled revenue lines, they must also rethink how they market and distribute products in a world where customer attention is fragmented across digital channels. Traditional branch-centric models are giving way to omnichannel journeys that integrate mobile apps, web platforms, social media, and third-party ecosystems. For BizFactsDaily readers interested in this evolution, the site's marketing and growth strategies section examines how financial institutions are using data-driven marketing, personalization, and content to acquire and retain customers.
Digital marketing in banking increasingly relies on advanced analytics to optimize pricing, offers, and timing, turning marketing from a cost center into a revenue accelerator. Banks in markets such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand are leveraging open banking data to craft hyper-relevant offers, while institutions in Asia and North America use real-time behavioral signals to trigger contextual product recommendations. Research from BCG and Accenture shows that banks with advanced digital marketing capabilities tend to achieve higher cross-sell rates and lower churn, directly impacting revenue.
For BizFactsDaily's audience of executives and investors, the key takeaway is that distribution is no longer a passive channel but an active driver of monetization, where data, design, and experimentation converge to create differentiated customer experiences and recurring income streams.
Employment, Skills, and the Future of Work in Banking
The transformation of banking revenue models through technology has profound implications for employment, skills, and workforce strategy. Automation, AI, and digital platforms are reducing demand for some traditional roles while increasing demand for others, particularly in data science, cybersecurity, software engineering, and digital product management. Organizations such as the World Bank and the International Labour Organization have analyzed how digital transformation is reshaping financial sector employment across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
For readers monitoring labor market impacts and opportunities, BizFactsDaily's employment and work trends section provides analysis of reskilling, upskilling, and the changing nature of financial sector careers. Banks that invest in continuous learning, internal mobility, and cross-functional collaboration are better positioned to execute on their technology-led revenue strategies, while those that treat technology purely as a cost-cutting tool risk eroding morale, losing key talent, and undermining their capacity to innovate.
The future of work in banking also has a direct bearing on the credibility and trustworthiness of new revenue models, as customers and regulators increasingly ask how financial institutions are managing the human impact of automation and digitalization, and how they are ensuring that technological gains translate into broader economic and social benefits.
Investment, Valuation, and the Road Ahead
As banks in 2025 continue to explore and scale new revenue models through technology, investors are reassessing how to value financial institutions. Traditional metrics such as price-to-book and return on equity remain important, but they are now complemented by assessments of digital capabilities, platform reach, data assets, and innovation pipelines. For BizFactsDaily's readership of investors and analysts, the site's investment and capital markets section examines how these factors are influencing valuations across regions including the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.
Institutional investors increasingly scrutinize banks' technology roadmaps, partnership strategies, and cyber resilience as indicators of future revenue growth and risk. Reports from BlackRock and Vanguard highlight how ESG considerations, digital readiness, and governance are being integrated into bank investment decisions. At the same time, private equity and venture capital investors are funding specialized fintechs that either compete with or complement banks, creating a dynamic ecosystem where collaboration and competition coexist.
For BizFactsDaily.com, which sits at the intersection of business, technology, and finance, the story of banks exploring new revenue models through tech is not just about digital transformation; it is about the redefinition of what a bank is and how it creates value for customers, shareholders, and society. The institutions that will lead in the next decade are those that can combine technological sophistication with deep risk expertise, regulatory engagement, and a culture of continuous learning, turning innovation from a buzzword into a disciplined, revenue-generating capability.
As global economic conditions evolve and regulatory frameworks continue to adapt, readers can rely on BizFactsDaily's core business coverage and real-time news updates to track how banks across North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America are navigating this complex, technology-driven landscape. The journey from interest margins to platform economics, AI-driven personalization, embedded finance, data monetization, digital assets, and sustainable finance is far from over, but by 2025 it is clear that the banks that treat technology as a core revenue engine rather than a supporting function are the ones shaping the future of global finance.