A woman walks past the Bank of Ireland ATMs in Dublin city center.

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DUBLIN – The look of Irish banking has changed dramatically.

Within a few weeks, NatWest-owned Ulster Bank announced it would cease operations, while KBC Ireland opened talks to sell its loan book and exit.

The moves could eventually result in only three banks in the Irish market – the two main players, the Bank of Ireland and AIB and the permanent TSB – ringing alarm bells about the state of banking competition in the country.

Meanwhile, fintech (financial technology), which is well-positioned with venture capital financings like Revolut and N26, has gained momentum in the market. Revolut has around 1.3 million users in Ireland while N26 has around 200,000 users.

Adrienne Gormley, Chief Operating Officer of the German N26, which is itself a fully regulated bank, is aware of the drastically changed market.

“Number one, we see it as an opportunity. While the Ulster Bank news was probably on the agenda for some time, the KBC announcement surprised people,” she told CNBC.

It may offer opportunities, but it also begs the question of what challenges and problems are so prevalent in the Irish market that two big banks would wash their hands and leave.

“While we are assessing what is happening and why others are leaving, we still need to look at our customers with very clear eyes and focus on customer needs in the market. Of course we need to look well and see why others are leaving? Is it because they have to hold too much capital? “

The emergence and popularity of digital banking have been instrumental in changing this landscape. Earlier this year, the Bank of Ireland announced plans to close 103 branches in the country. CEO Francesca McDonagh said the move to online services was a key driver of this decision.

Digital banking and the arrival of fintech competitors have changed the dynamics of the Irish banking market, but serious questions remain about the state of competition and what this means for consumers.

Banks in sync

Fintech operators or neo-banks have taken the baton for instant payments, leaving many of the incumbents behind to regain market share.

A consortium of Irish banks – at least AIB, Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB and KBC – are trying to win back some of this customer base with their own app.

The app, tentatively titled Synch, enables instant payments between accounts at any bank.

The banks involved were excited about the project, but Michael Dowling, a professor of finance at Dublin City University, told CNBC that the prospect raises some warnings about the competition.

According to Dowling, the Synch app looks like a closed shop where the banks want to “set up a system in which they can essentially exclude others from this payment network”.

He added that mechanisms such as SEPA Instant are already in place for banks in Europe to make instant payments.

The banks’ synchronization proposal is currently with the Irish Watchdog, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. An initial submission by the banks was rejected by the supervisory authority due to missing details. A second registration took place shortly afterwards.

The Banking & Payments Federation Ireland, an industry group that coordinates synchronization efforts with banks, declined to comment, citing the CCPC process.

Future of competition

Instant payments may be one thing that has cornered fintech companies, but question marks still hover over the future of long-term loans and mortgages in the country.

N26 is committed to lending in other markets but has not brought these services to Ireland.

“We are a fully licensed bank so it is obviously interesting for us to understand what suite of products in this area could work in the Irish market,” said Gormley.

“Given the news from Ulster Bank and KBC and the very dramatic shift in Irish banking, we obviously need to consider how and what we would offer to the Irish market.”

Dowling said the outlook for competition in the Irish banking sector is bleak amid the dwindling number of banks – but Starling Bank, another relative newcomer to the fintech scene, has long promised to enter the market and is aiming for its banking license the Central Bank to Bank of Ireland.

“I don’t think there’s a real possibility that another bank is popping up right now,” Dowling said, adding that other European banks are unlikely to be drawn to the market.

He added that regulation was needed to prevent monopoly behavior by the remaining banks.

“It’s this longer-term borrowing that we’re getting stuck with, there is no competition. There are three banks and it really is. This is where regulation needs to be put in place and we need to think creatively about how to fix this,” he said .

“This is the change we need because there won’t be an outside savior. Maybe some of the fintech firms will develop in due course, but we really need forced competition.”

It’s been seven years since Gary Chung left finance and product management.

The 44-year-old is now an avowed “slashie” – someone who pursues multiple careers rather than a traditional full-time job.

“I chose to be a slashie because … working in Hong Kong, working overtime, the intensity – I couldn’t take it for a long time,” he told CNBC.

Since taking the “leap of faith,” Chung has worked as a wedding cameraman and phonics teacher – but right now he’s focused on being a taekwondo instructor and sports product sales trainer.

What is a slashie?

The American author Marci Alboher is widely held responsible for popularizing the term “slash career”. She wrote a book about people who pursue multiple interests and income streams in search of a satisfactory working life.

Another example is Hugo Ho – a personal trainer / social entrepreneur / financial planner who lives in Hong Kong.

“I don’t do the same thing every day. Every day is different,” the 31-year-old told CNBC. “I’m so refreshed and motivated every day.”

The concept of being a slashie is similar to being a freelancer – but different, said Vicki Fan, CEO of Mercer’s Hong Kong business.

“Freelancers tend to be … by the hour or project, and they are content with some kind of valleys and peaks in terms of work,” she said.

Being a slashie is “more formal,” she explained. “You would apply for similar roles that full-time workers in the market will apply for.”

An upward trend

Anecdotally, this trail seems to be becoming more and more common in Hong Kong and around the world.

Chung, the sports product taekwondo instructor / sales trainer, said a lot of people want a good work-life balance.

“As a slashie … I’d think that’s easier to offset,” he said, adding that a lot of people want to be YouTubers / internet influencers too.

Ho, the personal trainer, said advances in technology allow people to easily search for various career opportunities.

In order for the slashie work culture to be more firmly embedded, two enablers must be present, from the employer’s point of view.

Vicki fan

Mercer Hong Kong

According to Mercer’s Fan, the number of slashies has increased, particularly as a result of the pandemic.

She doesn’t see any slashies replacing the mainstream workforce, however.

“In order for the slashie work culture to be more embedded, there must be two enablers, from the employer’s perspective,” she said.

The first is redefining work to focus more on skills or responsibilities and less on working hours and processes. “Many companies’ existing roles don’t work that way,” Fan said.

Second, slashies need opportunities and access to services like health care. Otherwise, the number of people willing to be slashies is likely to be limited.

Considerations for possible slashies

Chung is under no illusions about the tradeoffs between a traditional job and his own unconventional career choices, given that he gave up a stable income and a job with health insurance to be a slashie.

“It’s a pretty big risk,” he said. “As a father of two, it’s really … a great leap in faith.”

The coronavirus crisis hit him too. Since the retail stores suffered, he didn’t get much work as a sales coach. At the same time, the taekwondo gym he was training at had to temporarily close and classes were postponed online.

We worked so hard, I’d say three times as hard, but maybe earn half as much.

“We worked so hard – I’d say three times as hard, but maybe earn half as much,” he said.

It is important to be financially prepared for an income decline, especially at the beginning, Chung said.

“After quitting my job to become a slashie, I probably only made a third of my (previous) salary,” he said. Future slashies must also have a good understanding of the roles, be disciplined, and have support from their families, he advised.

Employers may also see slashies differently when they apply for a full-time position, according to Mercer’s Fan.

When comparing the résumés of a slashie and a traditional employee, hiring managers may ask the question of whether a slashie can be dedicated to the job.

No turning back

Chung and Ho are unlikely to be concerned – both men say they are not interested in getting back to regular 9-to-5 jobs.

Ho said he was “definitely not” going back to a traditional full-time role.

“I like to be a slashie because I can have my flexibility,” he said.

Chung said he now earns more than he used to and is enjoying what he is doing.

“I really love what I do now,” he said. “As a slashie, as a taekwondo trainer, I don’t have to work that much, so … I can spend more time with my family.”

– CNBC’s Yolande Chee contributed to this report.