A regular discussion of mine has resurfaced in recent days: is the branch dead? Why it has returned is due to the announcement of Santander closing a fifth of its UK branch network: The Spanish-owned bank, which has one of the largest high street networks in Britain, will shut 140 branches, leaving 614 after the closures, which…
I got into one very interesting discussion with a digital banker. He was underscoring how important data is in banking, and referenced the fact that banking started with data. It started as a ledger system a thousand years ago so that pilgrims could travel to the Holy Land under the wing of the Knights Templar….
I claim that most of the banks embracing true digital transformation and not just treating digital as a channel, are led by people who understand technology. They have a leadership team who are passionate about digitalisation, and see it as a core raison d’etre of the bank’s future. Not just an add-on. So, I took…
A further aspect of the digital banks I am talking with is that they have reviews all the time. Not formal reviews, but fast meetings with the business people, designers, developers and even audit and compliance all around the table. It is quick, frequent and informal unlike the old industrial organisation which has long, annual…
Continuing my conversation about implementing digital transformation, one of the biggest issues all companies face with transformation – digital or otherwise – is bringing the people with you. Some would say that anyone who does not join the journey can leave, but that’s quite a tough stance. If you don’t get with the program, you’re…
In another guest post related to industry versus digital banking Marko Wenthin, co-founder of solarisBank, sent this insight into my discussion of FinTech banks last week. Organisational behaviour – synchronised swimming versus football teams I read the post of my friend Chris today about how a FinTech bank embraces IT rather than have it as a…
Ever since I started working in business process re-engineering and transformation a while ago, before most millennials were born I should say, I learnt a lesson early on. Transformation will never work without a crisis point. You cannot make the whole company change if profits are good, objectives are being met, customers are happy, and…
I found it interesting to hear that many of the banks focused upon digital are studying, visiting, talking to and hiring people from the Big Tech firms. People with experience at Netflix, Alibaba, Amazon and Tencent are in strong demand, especially those who can code. I always remember the comment from a former senior member…
Another key factor of the digital banks I’m talking to is that the customer is their primary focus. Not the shareholder, the investor, the quarterly bonus, the dividend yield or the cost-income ratio. The customer. This is something I’ve found quite rare in most banks, as the retail customer is deemed fairly unimportant in the…
