The wave of fintech disruption that is sweeping through the financial services industry is at a critical phase. The rise of a group of start-ups targeting every corner of financial services, from currency transactions and share settlement to trading and wealth management, has won the attention of the industry’s giant incumbents. These leaders are increasingly discussing the urgent imperative of innovation.

The start-ups claim that their “superior” business models and technology will enable them to crush the incumbent dinosaurs. The incumbents by contrast point to significant advantages that will guarantee their survival, from established brands and customer relationships to greater financial resources and a regulatory system that favours the status quo far more than in most industries undergoing disruption. Yet privately, start-ups and incumbents alike increasingly acknowledge that, in many parts of financial services, the winners from disruption will be those firms, old and new, that best figure out how to collaborate with each other to create win-win partnerships.