LEVERAGING DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES TO DRIVE FINANCIAL INCLUSION WITHIN THE BANKING SECTOR.

Globally, disruptive technologies—such as artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things IoT), robotics process automation (RPA), blockchain and virtual reality (VR)—are changing the nature of the economy, society and consumer behaviour as well as jobs and industries such as banking; they are creating new value for both banks and clients. South Africa is no exception. With consumers’ needs and demands changing as their exposure to different technologies increases, banks no longer have the luxury of waiting for clients to bring their needs to the branch. To stay relevant, “traditional” banking-industry leaders have been adopting new technologies at a more rapid pace, working to integrate banking services into consumers’ daily lives while solving their needs before they realise they have them—all while leveraging the huge volumes of banking data  for their benefit and convenience.

Despite rapid progress in the banking industry, financial inclusion remains a challenge, with approximately 11 million South Africans stated as being unbanked or underbanked. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the perceived high banking fees and the amount of paperwork required by banks for applications—including slow response times—are some of the key reasons why a significant portion of the population remains unbanked. One of the biggest challenges for banks is lowering the costs of serving clients without compromising service, while at the same time making banking more accessible. Acceleration of digital solutions enabled by disruptive technologies gives banks the opportunity to expand their reach to more clients than ever before. The combination of data, mobile devices, and internet speed and reach has fuelled banks to edge towards demonetising mostly transactional accounts, introducing zero-based monthly fee accounts, therefore driving inclusivity and defending against new, mostly digital competitors. Bringing more people into the financial system is not just a strategic imperative for banks but rather part of a shared goal that will lead to a boost in economic growth in the long run, create new market opportunities and ease the unemployment and poverty burden on the economy.

This disruption has had a real impact on Nedbank’s approach to business, putting clients first with a true commitment to client-centricity. At the core of our retail and business banking strategy is the desire to deliver delightful client experiences through digital transformation. This has shaped the bank’s way of working, starting with the customer in mind and delivering products with better client benefits that are matched to the experience expectations of new and existing clients. To bring this to life, Nedbank has placed strategic emphasis on a Digital First & First in Digital philosophy, meaning that we would like our clients to opt for their first touch-point with the bank to be the digital-leveraging capabilities we have built to enable them to do so with ease and convenience, which will, in turn, make us “First in Digital”. This philosophy will allow us to win two battles: the battle for client and the battle for efficiency, supported by core capabilities that we are continuously building as a bank at a fast pace.

This is a bold ambition that we have set for ourselves, and it will enable us to cater to a broad range of client segments and create specialised industries and ecosystems in which we then operate. Our intended outcome is to deliver a difference that matters to clients, all the time.