Digitalisation; what are we going to do with it? How do you implement it in a way that gives your organization the edge? During the 43rd EFMA Congress, the theme of which was Banking Transformation, several CEOs spoke about digital transformation in their financial institutions. Experts from all over the world gathered during the EFMA Congress to share their financial institutions’ digital transformation experiences and successes.

EFMA Congress Amsterdam: Banking Transformation

That traditional business models no longer meet consumer demands is already obvious. In order to provide for the customer’s constantly-changing behaviour, Santander Bank has based its business model on that of fintech companies. The first speaker, Javier San Félix, Head of Retail Banking & Deputy CEO at Santander Bank, explained that the basis of fintech companies lies in customer behaviour. “The strength of fintech companies is that they use digital solutions in such a way that they are able to respond faster and more efficiently to the needs of the customer, and in so doing they create a superb customer experience.”

Central for Santander is that everything must be smart and simple. The CEO said that for that to be achieved you must, as an organization, first have a credible genuine higher purpose. In the case of banking: “What do you do to make the world better? How can you satisfy the customer’s financial needs?” The second step is the internal linking of clear targets and methods in order to measure the transformation. Those targets must be meaningful to the business, examples being customer loyalty and the relationship you have with the customer. You then link your resources to targets and you create an omni-channel and digital environment. Given that the targets coordinate customer-centricity and customer experience, it is important not to include too much in the application. Agile and Lean methods are a good way to monitor scope. It was an intensive journey for San Félix. “We used to work in silos, so we really had to change our way of working.” And he ended with what is possibly his most important lesson:  “Transformation is not only about what to transform, but also about how to transform”.

Simple, smart, human and safe
On behalf of BNP Paribas France, Antonio Queiroz, Global Head of Hello Bank & eMIB, shared Hello Bank’s successful implementation.  To give direction to the new business model, Queiroz developed the eMIB programme that defines and rolls-out BNP Paribas’ distribution model. “Although increasingly more banks have e-commerce business models, they must not forget that they are banks and that IT is only a means to an end.” Combined with the conviction that in the future customers will expect banks to provide the link between new money and digitalisation, namely mobile, Queiroz developed a strategy for Hello Bank structured around four pillars: simple, smart, human and safe. Processes must be simple. “That’s a challenge, because it’s in our nature to make things complex.” But the bank has succeeded in coming up with an application module consisting of only four steps. Smart refers to the value banks can add; the use of attractive savings conditions, for example. Human means that automated banks must be interactive, and the final pillar, safe, commits to the quality and innovation of resources.

Queiroz emphatically rejected the idea of digital having to be cost-free. “If you create value, it doesn’t have to be free.” He also said that digital and humanity not going together is a myth. “Our employees have a budget to reward a customer. If he has a customer on the phone who has to go into hospital, he can use that budget to send a bunch of flowers.” What does the CEO think banks of future will look like? “More data driven, more open and more digital. But before we get there, we have to become more humble.”

Nobody cares about banks
Over the last five years there have been twice as many mobile transactions at ATOM Bank than transactions of a traditional nature. Anthony Thomson, Founder & Chairman of the ATOM Bank: “It is important to provide extra value in the process where customers need it. Create a bank based on the way consumers use technology. The match between experience and service yields profit’, said Thomson. And then he got serious. “Most of you have got terrible platforms. Then you create beautiful apps. That’s like putting lipstick on a pig. It’s ultimately still a pig”. Humility is important here, too. “Keep in mind that nobody cares about banks. They care about banking because they have to.”