The Future of Banking: Branching Out in a Time of Disruption

The Future of Banking: Branching Out in a Time of Disruption

Presenters: Kimberley Peter & Michael Schaus

ABSTRACT: As banks scale back physical branches, rural communities are already living with reduced access. These communities offer a useful lens on the future of banking everywhere, and an opening to rethink what "remote" means and how branches might evolve. Using a speculative futures approach, we ask: what if the future of banking depended not on fewer branches, but on reframing what they are and what they're for? Join Kimberley and Michael for a performative, narrative-driven exploration of how banking might adapt to significant physical and digital disruption.

BIOGRAPHIES:

Kimberley Peter is a researcher, foresight practitioner, and design leader with 20+ years of experience exploring what design can do for and beyond products. She leads research at RBC Digital and co-founded Banking on Impact, a community connecting designers and researchers in, with, and adjacent to financial services to imagine and build better futures. She holds an MSc in Biomedical Communications from the University of Toronto and an MDes in Strategic Foresight and Innovation from OCAD University.

Michael Schaus is a strategic foresight practitioner who designs futures people can step into, including two banks of 2028, built inside a bank lobby in 2018. His work starts from the idea that money is a story of value we author together. He spent seven years building foresight inside a major Canadian bank, finishing as Principal Design Strategist. Before that, he worked in film and television, including on the production of Deepa Mehta's Academy Award–nominated Water. He co-leads Banking on Impact, holds an MDes in Strategic Foresight and Innovation from OCAD University, and is a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre's Interactive Art and Entertainment program.

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Agenda

6:50 Doors open

7:00 Presentation 

8:00 Networking