In the (post-)crisis era, challenging the status quo through innovation will be critical to restore profitability in the financial sector. The commoditisation of products within the industry is making it very difficult to compete on price. Moreover, a whole array of non-banking entities is entering the market to close the gap between the offerings of banks and the needs of customers. Suddenly, banks face competition from telcos, supermarkets, tech firms and innovative start-ups, all experienced in building online relationships and developing and marketing transparent products. In this paper we explain how financial institutions can install structural collaboration trajectories with key stakeholders (consumers, employees, management) in order to develop true value propositions consumers are willing to pay for.