Saving clients’ time to enjoy their lifestyle
HAT drives innovation in banking is the realisation that today’s consumer is a very different consumer from the one of two years ago, never mind five or even 30 years ago. Today’s consumer is connected and informed, and financial services have to reflect this.
Professional services firm Accenture coined the term ‘Customer 3.0’ – an individual who is digitally connected, highly informed and the power players that banks need to capture.
Customer 3.0 wants things instantly and hassle free. When they make purchases, they want the payment to be slick and simple as if it doesn’t exist. They also want to have control.
Consumers are not interested in who owns the payments solution or which banks are involved – and this concept ushered in the need seamless, integrated access to banking and investment services.
In the case of exclusive banking solutions, this has to cover both local and international.
Investec’s Global Head of Digital Lyndon Subroyen, says: “The impact of technology has led to a global evolution in the way organisations do business. Banking is no different.
“Investec understands that in order to continue to be responsive to our customers, remain agile and relevant, it is imperative to understand how technology touches our customers’ lives and extend that to providing financial solutions that meet their individual needs.”
‘User experience’ has become an essential element when integrating innovations into the bank’s systems.
“The end user is integral to the process, with everything being built around their needs. We first have to understand their ‘ pain points’ – what’s working and what’s not working for them – before we even consider the technology we apply to meet those needs.
“Most banks do a bit of this, but we are a very high contact type organization and our almost daily contact with clients feeds through our systems.
“We test ideas with them and see if we’re on the right track.”
Innovation and bricks and mortar banks often of necessity revolves around cutting costs, but Subroyen says the focus at Investec with its more entrepreneurial niche of clientele is on “finding ways to save clients’ time throughout their entire lifetime”.
Financial services companies are looking to adopt technology for a variety of reasons: “A bricks and mortar organisation will want to save costs by reducing that bricks and mortar.
“Another company will use technology to create a client experience relevant to its particular clients, and we pride ourselves on being a lifestyle enabler, and that underpins all our innovations in technology.”
WIt was through this process that Investec recently announced its latest digital innovation in which clients can now see all of their local and international accounts across geographies, on one consolidated dashboard, in the currency of their choice.
The development evidences Investec’s One Place philosophy, which offers clients seamless, integrated access to banking and investment services, both locally and internationally.
With a growing band of ‘global citizens’ who are often busy people managing complex businesses, Investec recognised the need for a simple, easy to use digital platform that allows clients to view a complete picture of their global finances.
Subroyen says: “Knowing that Investec clients are global citizens, who use a variety of online platforms to manage their financial affairs, we have responded to their specific needs with technology that offers great insights, as well as time and convenience benefits.”
While being able to view all their Investec accounts on one dashboard, clients can also get a holistic view of their balance sheet by using My Personal Portfolio, a tool within Investec Online that enables clients to import any external accounts globally, which include financial accounts, investments, rewards, insurance and assets.
Clients can also access income and spend tools that analyse expenditure across their Investec accounts through real-time illustrated charts.
“They can see exactly where their money goes as it automatically allocates income and expense into relevant categories – from pet food and grocery shopping to childcare and clothing, the tool ultimately enables them to make sense of their spending patterns, right down to the rands and cents,” says Subroyen.
Investec Online allows clients to transact with Investec both locally and internationally be it through the website, or the mobile and tablet apps launched earlier this year.
State-of-the-art digital secu- rity infrastructure underpins all of the digital services Investec makes available to its clients.
As a further security measure, a second factor authentication mechanism has been introduced that is activated by any interaction on Investec’s digital platforms to ensure that clients’ accounts cannot be compromised.
While complex structures support the services and products offered by Investec, the objective for the client’s experience is always to make what they see and use as simple as possible.
“Our digital channels are carefully designed to simplify the financial lives of our clients, as we believe this ultimately gives them access to their greatest commodity – time,” concludes Subroyen.
The driver for this integrated service has been the phasing out over recent years of exchange controls for individuals, meaning that more people are wanting to diversify their wealth geographically.
“We’ve spent many years creating the right ecosystem for such global citizens, all aimed at making the process easier for them,” he explains.
Subroyen says that in the age of Customer 3.0, where non-traditional competitors are increasingly challenging banks, and societies are ready for this next evolution, “lengthy turnaround times are no longer viable.
“Instead of spending a year trying to make a plan and spending the next two years trying to implement it, we have to take less time, be more efficient and streamlined for the benefit of our customers”.
“Agility is one of the biggest challenges for all organisations, whether banks or otherwise, as the pace of change is exponential at the moment.
“The approach to technology innovation today is to move from a ‘big bang’ approach to one of incremental improvement, as this retains agility.
“Investec is fortunate that it is big enough to relevant as a bank and small enough to be agile,” he says.
As to where technology is leading banking, Subroyen says “it is about using the technology to ultimately become a time-saving life and lifestyle enablers at each and every touch point”.
Payment Africa
Nor is lifestyle enabling only a strategy to bank the wealthy: in emerging markets too during recent years, mobile financial services have been identified as a key long-term strategy for mobile network op-
revolution
in erators, banks, financial institutions and merchants.
They have all identified mobile as an opportunity to achieve considerable growth, while keeping up with consumer expectations.
From the banks we have seen mobile banking apps, and mobile payment solutions such as FNB Banking App, Nedbank PocketPOS, Absa Payment Pebble, and Standard Bank SnapScan.
The mobile network operators are helping to address the unbanked through solutions like Vodacom’s M-Pesa and MTN’s Mobile Money.
The mobile money market is huge, it topped USD61 billion in 2012 and the GSMA cites that 5 percent of all mobile money services are in sub-Saharan Africa, making it the leading region worldwide.
Approximately 19 million of Kenya’s 44 million population subscribe to M-Pesa mobile money services.
Paul Opie, Banking Field Marketing Manager for Africa at Gemalto, says: “Africa is a continent filled with digital opportunity.
“With the mobile phone as the primary online device and a 72 percent mobile phone penetration rate, by far surpassing landline internet connections, the African digital revolution will take place through the small screen.
“The continent’s financial services sector is projected to grow 40 percent by 2020.
“However, it is also a place where a vast number of people do not have access to an account at the bank. Approximately 80 percent of sub-Saharan Africa is unbanked. But there are a number of initiatives that are helping people in sub-Saharan Africa gain financial access.
‘And these latest advances in technology are leading to the convergence of banking and telecoms,” says Opie.