If there’s one thing that isn’t lacking in this country, it’s a tolerance for gaps: in education, research, investment – gaps everywhere. The easiest one to fill is the notorious funding gap, simply by throwing money at it. Far more stubborn and far-reaching, however, are the technological bottlenecks. Increasingly, German companies – and banks – are facing one gap in particular: a software gap.

Nowhere has this been more visible for some time than in the automotive industry. Long spoiled by decades of success, the sector laughed off the „smartphone on wheels“ metaphor – until it suddenly realised that Apple and Google had become indispensable copilots for most customers. As the electronic evolution of vehicles accelerates – an area that generates far more value than tyres, paint, or racing stripes – Big Tech is climbing into the driver’s seat.

But no one has ever succeeded with a comeback by putting up roadblocks. Banning the latest car software editions from Apple and Google, which give them access to valuable vehicle data, doesn’t mainly punish the tech giants – it punishes the customer. And at a high cost: after all, no streaming service drops its most popular blockbusters without losing subscribers.

Just like tyres, paint, and racing stripes have lost their charm for many drivers, the personal services of the friendly bank branch employee are losing relevance for many customers. And with the shortage of skilled labour, that employee now often greets visitors at rural branches only on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The almost equally capable ATM takes care of the rest. Such customer service doesn’t stand a chance when compared to fully digital retail banking – now offered not just by neobanks but also by a growing number of European competitors targeting German retail customers. For Volksbanken and Sparkassen, tradition alone won’t be enough to hold on to customers. Like the auto industry, they need to quickly close their software gap. Experts point not only to outdated IT infrastructure in German online banking but also to poor user-friendliness – yet another parallel to the car industry.