Technology is the present and the future of banking and of course the entire financial services industry globally.
Whether an organisation adopted it 20 years ago or is just getting in on the act, leapfrog is the name of the game.
If the early “nerdy” birds rest on their laurels and the late comers become futuristic, the world, with its orientation for short memory, will always connect with those prepared to solve the problems of today.
A few things happening at Union Bank, one of Nigeria’s oldest financial services institutions, suggest a future where this historical fixation will sooner than later become a beautiful bride, courted by those who want banking services delivered fast, prompt and smart.
New trend
In the industry today, the word “smart” is the gathering point of those determined to win with technology.
Although phones have clearly seized the stronger narratives around the word (smartphones and all that), the people in financial services are leaving nothing to chance in the effort to connect, through the revolutions of technology, to millions of existing and potential customers.
Two examples will suffice.
One, AIICO Pensions, owned by AIICO Insurance, claims it is the brand that is making customers “Live Smart”.
Two, Skye Bank is making loud noises around its claim that it makes customers to “Be Smart”. A whole campaign is running to reinforce this claim.
Union Bank is also in the “Smart” business, but it is not making the promise in a campaign. It drives the experience across its business offices and channels.
Revival
For a bank that has not been heavy in technology, Union Bank seems to be future forward in its “Smart” rebirth. Any business that desires to win properly chooses its location first. So, its pilot Smart branches are in premium, high traffic locations.
At the Murtala Mohammed Airport Terminal 2 (MMA2) in Lagos, one Smart branch is located very close to the Presidential Lounge.
Customers can do a number of things hitherto not common in many branches of Union Bank. One can open a new account via a self-service platform. Just punch the buttons on a machine standing by the corner and your account is opened in minutes.
One can also make cash deposits via another ATM machine. There are fewer than three banks in the country where this happens at the moment.
But it does not end there. Customers with issues on accounts and transactions do not need to chase their account officers because there is a video conferencing facility to interface with them to solve problems in real time.
A replica of the airport branch is at Ozone Cinema, Yaba, Lagos, a high end, high traffic destination for the young and restless.
This demographic hates queues and want their problems (which they would rather call challenges) solved in minutes.
There are three other Smart branches in other parts of Lagos and Abuja.
But Smart facilities do not complete the picture. The looks-and-feel of these centres are deliberately worked to wear certain “ethnic” ambience which does not remind one of boring banking halls.
In a Smart branch of Union Bank, one gets the impression of an art gallery. One or two of the four walls are painted in curvy black-and-white patterns that relieve the usual tension people feel when they are in banks.
It also distinctly sticks in memory, a factor that will work for the bank in terms of top-of-mind and loyalty if and when this project spreads to all the experience platforms.
Fast forward
The bank says it is building a bank “of the future” via its e-branch networks and it is also determined to take this just about everywhere.
Union Bank Head of Corporate Affairs/Corporate Communication, Ogochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem, said the “e-branch concept is aimed at totally redefining the branch channels as we know it, to make it more customer-friendly.
“It is a self-service centre that ensures optimum customer satisfaction. The centre is the first of its kind in Nigeria with a vast selection of services to be offered customers.”
Facilities in e-branches include
Interactive projector screen
Video Wall creates a larger than life video experience in which displayed contents cannot be overlooked. This is not a single screen hanged on the wall; it is a wow large display with the content reaching out to customers.
Customers are allowed to interact with image content from promotional videos and other products information.
Interactive kiosks
Samsung Microsoft Surface/and or Wincor Kiosk is a state-of-the-art interactive medium on which customer service personnel can attend to customers.
Various applications centred on customer service will be installed; from account opening app interfaces to other apps on investment banking, among others.
Online banking
Samsung Smart Mobile Devices, including the Galaxy Tab 10.1, will be embedded in furniture that will complement office aesthetics. Customers will have a firsthand experience using smart devices for various online banking offers.
Samsung smart TV for video conferencing
Samsung PC is used at the centres to communicate with the Union Bank contact centre team. Customers via a live video chat can get immediate resolution to any issues.
These innovations define what Union Bank believes is the future of banking.
Ekezie-Ekaidem said: “Union Bank is transforming and one of the transformations we are pushing is the smart centres which we also call the bank for the future centres.
“A smart centre is a one-stop shop for customers where you can walk in and on your own do all the banking transactions you want to do, starting from ATM withdrawers, cash deposits, account openings, transfers and internet banking on your own.
“For example, as a customer you have an enquiry or an issue with your account, you can walk in and do a live video chat in our contact centre, so all your issues can be addressed at this centre.”
The smart centres run 24/7 as opposed to traditional banking which closes at 4pm.
Union Bank seems to be deriving value from this initiative launched in May, according to Ekezie-Ekaidem, who said the bank has used them to do a lot of transactions.
She gave an assurance that the bank has a “team that ensures that all transactions that pass through our platform are safe and secure and also protect both the bank and the customers.”
