INTRODUCTION
STUDY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of this study is to provide an overall view of the global market for retail banking solutions. "Retail banking solutions" encompass a wide range of technologies and applications, including:
The analysis is intended to facilitate strategic decisions by answering such questions as:
BACKGROUND
Various studies have been published in the last few years analyzing different segments and subsegments of the international market for retail banking solutions. But until recently, there have been no comprehensive studies of overall trends in the market and the macro- and microlevel factors driving these market trends. In early 2002, Tower Group released a research report entitled, "Global IT Spending for Retail Bank Delivery Channels." It covers the period from 2001 through 2005.
While Tower Group's findings are useful, the present study takes a more in-depth look at underlying market forces, including the economic recovery apparently now underway but which could not be accurately forecast when Tower Group was preparing its report. This study of the global market for retail banking solutions through the year 2006 incorporates the latest information on and technical trends in the United States and other key international markets and analyzes their impact on vendors of these products and services.
INTENDED AUDIENCE
The report is intended for decision makers in the retail banking and related technology sectors, including:
SCOPE AND FORMAT
This report is an analytical tool whose primary purpose is to describe the international market for retail banking technology. It consists of the following major sections:
METHODOLOGY AND INFORMATION SOURCES
The findings and conclusions of this report are based on information gathered from vendors, users of retail banking technology and other informants. Additional data were obtained from extensive reviews of secondary sources such as trade publications, trade associations, company literature and on-line databases.
Wherever possible, historical data through the end of 2001 were used as the basis for analysis and projections. However, for certain market segments, specific data beyond 2000 were incomplete or unavailable at the time this report was prepared. In these cases, year 2000 data were used and documented accordingly.
The number and diversity of the world's markets for retail banking solutions make it difficult to generalize from conditions in the United States and a few other developed economies to the global market as a whole. Therefore, we have divided the world into eight regions for separate analysis. In most regions, we also have selected one or more individual countries for a closer look based on their individual importance and/or how they represent conditions in their regions. The eight regions, as well as the individual study countries, are as follows:
Our final analyses and projections are based on a combination of a consensus among the primary contacts combined with our understanding of the impact of trends from a historical and analytical perspective.
All dollar projections presented in this report are in 2001 constant dollars.
