FINANCIAL INNOVATIONS IN THE CROATIAN BANKING SECTOR: THE PERCEPTION OF BANK MANAGERS
Abstract: In the dynamic environment of the modern financial sector, innovations play an increasingly important role in shaping the business strategies and services of financial institutions. This particularly applies to the banking sector, which is continuously and significantly adapting to technological changes and market demands, thus creating the potential for strengthening financial inclusion. Due to the increasing importance of this topic, the paper clarifies the concept of financial innovations and presents the results of qualitative research based on data obtained through structured interviews with high-level managers of the six largest banks in the Croatian banking sector. The collected data enabled a comparison and analysis of the perception of financial innovations in different banks, which provides a clearer insight into the diversity of bank managers’ attitudes in this area, and consequently contributes to understanding the impact of their perception on the formation of business models. The above also contributes to increasing the reliability and credibility of the results obtained. The aim of the research is to determine, based on the analysis conducted, the dynamics and manner in which financial innovations are implemented in banking operations and what their impact is on existing bank business strategies. The results of the research conducted indicate a deep integration of financial innovations into banks’ business models and their significant impact on business strategy, internal processes and financial services distribution channels in the Croatian banking sector, which consequently affects the strengthening of the availability of financial services to end users. Financial innovations have also significantly shaped consumer expectations regarding the availability, speed and personalization of financial services. The main conclusion of the paper is that financial innovations are necessary and desirable, but their successful implementation requires stronger regulatory support and special attention within the risk management system.
Keywords: financial innovation, digitization, risks, Fintech, financial inclusion
