The rise of WealthTech: how is BNP Paribas Private Banking in Europe meeting the challenge?

TF: WealthTech firms and neobanks have successfully developed targeted strategies to attract an increasingly demanding high-net-worth clientele. Their success rests on three main drivers. Firstly, mobile-first client acquisition plays a key role. These players offer intuitive apps, accessible in just a few clicks, with very low minimum investment thresholds – sometimes as little as €1. This accessibility enables them to reach a wider audience, including those who were previously hesitant to take the plunge.
Secondly, they have reimagined the user experience by prioritising simplicity and transparency. Fees are often clearer and more competitive, and advice is available in real time, whether by telephone or via integrated chat functions. This responsiveness is exactly what clients accustomed to the immediacy of digital services expect.
Finally, these players are specifically targeting mass-affluent clients who do not yet have sufficient investable assets to qualify for traditional private banking services. Their purchasing power and appetite for digital services make them a strategic target for WealthTech firms, which see this segment as a major source of future growth – particularly as many of these clients will become the private banking clients of tomorrow. 

MR: WealthTech firms are responding to a growing demand for simplicity and transparency. The challenge for private banks is therefore to continue to accelerate their transformation in order to offer a digital experience that meets the highest standards, while maintaining high-end personalised advice for complex wealth management strategies.  The 100% digital model of these new players is still not equipped to address more specific needs such as taxation, preparing for intergenerational wealth transfer, inheritance planning or complex wealth structuring. At BNP Paribas Wealth Management, we combine technological innovation with human expertise to deliver a premium experience. Our approach is based on a hybrid strategy, combining the latest technologies – such as artificial intelligence and digital tools – with high-level human expertise, particularly in wealth advisory and complex wealth management. 

TF : To succeed in this environment, both traditional and digital players need to combine several key strengths. First and foremost, expert advice remains an essential pillar, particularly on complex issues such as taxation, wealth planning or succession planning. Clients expect in-depth expertise and bespoke support, even in a digital context. Secondly, adapting to local market requirements is crucial. Products must comply with the regulations and investment practices specific to each country.  Maintaining the highest standards of compliance is another key success factor. In a sector where trust is paramount, players must guarantee maximum security and the highest standards in the management of data and transactions. Finally, financial results play a decisive role. Fintechs’ annual reports now show sustainably profitable business models approaching the levels of traditional banks, which reassures clients and strengthens their commitment to these new models. Private banking could follow the same trajectory as that seen in online retail banking 10 years ago. The parallels are striking. At that time, the retail banking sector was undergoing a profound transformation, marked by the emergence of 100% digital banks, an increasingly autonomous client base and a quest for transparency.  Today, private banking is undergoing a similar evolution: wealth management clients are seeking greater autonomy in managing their investments, whilst demanding complete transparency on fees and performance. The concept of ‘value for money’ – that is, the best balance between quality and cost – has become a decisive factor for these clients, just as it was for users of online banking services 10 years ago. However, as Mariam points out, one barrier remains: the complexity of certain wealth management products (taxation, inheritance planning, etc.) is still holding back widespread adoption of fully digital solutions. This is all the more so as not all of these digital providers offer the full range of products, and they still need time to develop and bring them to market. Finally, according to the AMF’s 2025 Savings and Investment Barometer, the bank or financial adviser remains, in France, the primary source of information sought before making an investment decision.  

To remain competitive, private banks must therefore continue to invest in three key areas:  

1. A premium customer experience, combining digital innovation (intuitive tools, seamless customer journeys) and human expertise (dedicated advisers, bespoke support). 
2. Personalisation, with ever more tailored solutions to meet the specific needs of each client.
3. The pace of transformation, enabling them to accelerate their digital transformation and lead disruption rather than be disrupted by it.  

MR: One of the distinctive strengths of BNP Paribas Wealth Management is the breadth and diversity of our products and services – an offering unmatched by neobanks and WealthTech firms. We provide a very wide range of carefully selected solutions, giving clients access to exclusive diversification opportunities normally reserved for institutional investors – private equity, private real estate, private infrastructure, etc., across international markets – as well as to tangible assets such as French rural and vineyard property, supported by bespoke high-end human advice.

Our offering draws on the full range of expertise within the BNP Paribas Group, whether it be structured products from BNP Paribas Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB) or alternative investment solutions from BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts. This enables us to offer the most relevant and personalised wealth management strategies and solutions to meet the specific needs of each of our clients. What also sets us apart is the ability of our private bankers to draw on all the specialist expertise required to consistently provide personalised advice to all our clients, whether they are private individuals, entrepreneurs or families. This includes financial experts and analysts, wealth planning specialists, discretionary asset managers, private bankers specialising in family-owned businesses, experts in credit structuring, and specialists in property, rural land, art and philanthropy, amongst many others.

For Family Offices, we also offer dedicated solutions with specific features, including personalised access management, advanced reporting and transfers requiring multiple approvals. 

TF : Banks that are able to innovate without compromising their core values – personalised support and expertise – will emerge as winners from this revolution. 

MR : Our challenge in the coming years is to maintain the momentum of our transformation and remain at the forefront of innovation, whilst preserving what has historically been the strength of private banks: relationships built on trust and bespoke support.