Say Digital Bank ONE MORE TIME.....I Dare you!!

This is an Interesting Article from BGC, https://gulfnews.com/business/sectors/banking/mideast-banks-play-catch-up-in-digitisation-game-1.1673898  talking about Middle East banks playing catchup with digital. But the digitisation problem is a global one, not a Middle East one. New players are changing the market, not other banks. There is a great article from Chris Skinner where he highlights the digital issues facing all banks. https://thefinanser.com/2016/02/digital-bank-in-one-picture.html/

https:// https://thefinanser.com/2016/02/digital-bank-in-one-picture.html/

"How do you convert an established Bank to a Digital Bank?  
1) Do we throw away the old bank?  
2) Do we run the Digital bank alongside the old bank?  
3) Do we just try to stick Digital on top of the old bank?

Most banks take the latter approach, which is why they have a Chief Digital Officer and talk about channels and integration.  It’s tosh, as those banks won’t be around in ten years.  ....but most banks operate this way: let’s do digital and stick it on top of our old systems.  It maintains the status quo, is easy and enables the bank to look good by sticking lipstick on the pig.  Fact is it’s still a pig and, in a few years, the pig will snort."

I think Chris is right, that many banks just "Do Digital" - add technology, but the first step in the digital journey should actually be to understand your customer processes from end-to-end.

Currently in Middle Eastern banks, the customer experience is only seen by each department in isolation, not from the whole journey. When the bank can see and understand the whole customer journey\experience, then they can see what short term steps can be made to enhance the customer journey, and this maybe to make things digital, or more than likely to offer multiple channels of communication, depending on the customers choice. The journey should include all interactions, even down to the security Guard, what questions is he\she asked by every customer? Can you make that information easier to access?

Chris's article mentions that banks are competing with start-up firms, who can deliver similar services for 100 basis points compared to an established bank whose cost foot print is 300 basis points. This doesn't take into consideration lots of clients will pay for better services, especially in the Middle East. They will pay for value, so the model has to be either multi-channel or specialization.

A bricks and mortar bank closing at 3pm, doesn't add value to your clients.  Having customer service officers, who don't have total view of your account details, or customer service officers who can't see that you have logged a complaint online about your mortgage, or having multiple teams not empowered to take ownership of your interaction, and having systems that don't allow hand offs, the customer only sees one bank, across any of these channels. This is where start ups have the real benefit. They don't have years of "that's the way we do it here". They are able to start with the customer in the middle. Here is where understanding the end-2-end customer experience makes the difference.

Once you understand the process, then you can understand where you can make things more efficient, because that enhances the customer journey, not because everyone else is using ripple, or earthport or blockchain, it should be because it enhances the customer experience, then you can understand what can be moved to a digital location and enhance the customer experience.

So how should a bank begin it's digital journey?

1. Step 1, Understand the end to end customer process. What does it feel to be like your customer in all scenarios?
2. Step 2, Measure your process, it may look right, but how long does that step take, why does it take that period?
3. Step 3, Test the changes, the changes may make sense to your team, what are the wider implications, Social media and testing with a wider audience is key
4. Step 4, Repeat step 1, having a process and systems that are adaptable and can change according to new conditions, is the key to being able to stay competitive, 

Digital is the next big thing, but there will be something else, there always is. The question needs to be, are your Systems, People and Processes flexible enough to cope? The digital journey, like every journey, MUST start with the process.