Digital Bank

I often talk about changing core systems, and most people tell me I’m mad. It doesn’t have to happen. You can have an overlay of middleware to deal with it. You don’t need to change those old systems. It’s too risky and too costly. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And yet nearly every digital bank…

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…

Another key factor in building a truly digital bank is commitment. Commitment right from the top and, by the top, I don’t just mean the CEO and the leadership team, but the Board of the bank. Quite often, a digital transformation of a bank requires years of commitment during which time shareholder return takes second…

I’ve been grappling with what sets apart the banks that I think are truly digital from the rest, and realised the other day that it is because they have digital to the core of the bank. They don’t just think the bank has to adopt digital or do digital, they have to be digital. It…