If you are a banker, techie, representative or most importantly a customer in BFSI Sector, I would certainly take it for given you must have heard the new neologism "Digital Banking". In my circle, I did chat with several people as well as interestingly, no 2 persons seem to perceive this in same way - well, this is kind of overestimation, however you understand! This made me take a pause as well as assume what this can imply to somebody like me who is an insider in the market, to address if a coworker, friend, or a person at my box asks me about this. As a real CrossFit professional athlete I adhere to a minimum of the first rule - tell every person you find concerning CrossFit.
The factor I raise CrossFit is not just because of my fascination or, even fascination. CrossFit is a little complicated and daunting to those uninitiated, however to put it just it is strength and also conditioning program, which optimizes fitness. CrossFit defines health and fitness itself in terms of 10 elements - Cardiovascular Endurance, Endurance, Versatility, Stamina, Power, Rate, Dexterity, Coordination, Accuracy, Equilibrium. However, normally if you ask any one of your close friends what is health and fitness, you could get multiple responses. E.g. a jogger will claim capacity to run half-marathon, or a weight lifter could say deadlift of at least 1.5 x body weight, or a man into yoga might say doing 108 Suryanamaskaras. Well, each of them may be right in their own method. Your definition of physical fitness may be doing every one of those, or you might simply claim I am fit sufficient if I am able to do my 9-to-5 work without taking any kind of authorized leave in an evaluation cycle.
On the exact same lines, financial institutions can analyze Digital Banking in their very own terms and likewise, people like you and me will have formed some opinion based upon our very own exposure.
Throughout the years, financial institutions of all sizes and shapes optimized a whole lot by adapting to IT/ ITES (IT Allowed Solutions) as well as they have actually achieved varied degrees of success. Nevertheless, as a result of lack of concentrated and longterm strategy, development of disjoined systems, quickly changing business as well as running situations, etc, the designated objectives might not have been fully realized. A few of those "failed" campaigns might have been driven by the institution's desire to be an very early adaptor of a innovation or trend (betting on a incorrect steed). As a matter of fact, we may shed a huge possibility, if we do not recognize and also bank on a winning steed. So, the trick is banking on the appropriate steed, at a right time - i.e., when the odds are low. Typically, markets use what is called a Buzz Cycle to review a brand-new innovation or trend. If you are interested to understand what is a "hype cycle", please see Gartner's method. I will certainly attempt to string together some of the crucial facets of Digital Financial, as unlike most of the buzzwords, it is neither a single service neither a innovation.
Just around the time (2008-10) I invested concerning a year plus in Brussels, 3 big financial institutions (Fortis, Dexia as well as KBC) which always stumbled upon as incredibly risk averse lenders from the BeNeLux region, began facing significant stress and their worth eroded substantially and activated warmed debates in the community - who thought their money is constantly secure with the banks (either as a depositor or share owner). What really occurred there, is really intricate. Secret variables being, substantial sovereign financial debt hovering between 84 to 99% of GDP, absence of Federal government for 533 days, etc. These triggered liquidity concerns. If you contribute to this other turmoils in the banking industry worldwide, it is simple to realize that the "trust" within the system was under threat. How would certainly we construct count on? By being clear. Customers require (not want!) transparency in the whole system. Younger the customer base, that require felt is more acute. This, when you look from the changing customer experience as well as expectations from retail sector (Amazon, Flipkart), transport (Uber, Ola), food sector (Zomato, FoodPanda, ZaptheQ), you recognize where the banking market is. Consumers have reset the assumptions in regards to value, experience, as well as alternatives. The Key takeaway for the lender - Customer Experience - abundant, consistent, mobile (anywhere), secure, enhanced value.
Many people I have connected with recently on this topic, believed Internet Banking or Mobile Banking as Digital. Yes, this is just the start of what could be Digital Financial. Possibly, they cover earlier set of customer expectations. Moving on, could we see a day quickly, where there is no paper in any one of the banking purchases? When I say paper, I am not simply describing money! Couple of things which are already in practice in few banks as well as acquiring momentum across are - digitizing procedures within the financial institution (like consumer on-boarding, loan application), cheque truncation systems which permits you to take a image of the cheque on your mobile and send to your financial institution, etc - there by bringing performance in decisionmaking, ability to tailor processes to details client demands, conserve some unneeded journeys to the branch, etc. This could imply in other words, applying paper/ image management systems, service procedure monitoring and also tracking systems, integrating these parts within the existing IT options. The Key - digitizing interior processes.
Social Media in the last few years have brought biggest influence throughout boundaries - be it, Tahrir Square change, Ice Pail Obstacle, which mobile to buy, exactly how we order and also spend for lunch or determining a great dining area and also sharing while sharing the costs. Social Media is already bring interruptions in terms of which bank to depend on, what they can get out of a bank in terms of services, lend a voice to their discontentment. Which in turn implies, banks need to get on the exact same Social Media listening to their customers, selling their solutions as well as likewise inevitably, attracting brand-new consumers, maintaining the clients as well as even more significantly, coming to be "The Goto Bank" if the consumer has multiple accounts. As an example, what sandstone.com.au/en-au/mobile-app could not have been anticipated few years back, in Kenya, among our respected client's Twitter take care of (@ChaseBankKenya) utilizes Twitter to connect, launch and also share CSR activities, and address clients' queries as well as concerns very properly. That is, The Reach aspect.
One more silent thing happening behind the walls in a bank is called Data Analytics or Big Data. These churn out unprecedented insights into customer behavior and preferences, driving extremely focused strategies. These also help customers to understand their spend analysis, plan their budgets, financial goal management etc
. Apart from these key components, there are several others which could make the bank more "digital" - chat and video discussion facilities to bring bank closer to the customer when he/she needs it, or educating customers through online tutorials like financial literacy, tax planning, etc, integrating various solutions and systems in the bank to reduce data replication and redundancy and helping the bank make more Straight Through Processing systems there by reducing errors, cost of operations, and increasing efficiency in the entire system. Banks could significantly increase seamless data exchange with others partners like regulatory bodies, clients, government bodies thus making entire process much more transparent and efficient.
Finally, the big question is what should be achieved from the big task list to call a bank "Digital Bank"? Just like in fitness, there is no single solution or the right solution. Each bank has to define its own strategy, execution plan to reach the goal of customer delight, operation efficiency, and overall share holders' enhanced value.
With our sharp focus on Core Banking Solutions, and wide range of experiences in consulting, implementation, testing, integrating several solutions at various banks across the globe, we at Bfsi consulting will be glad to engage with you or your team to help realize some of these goals.