The Chief Executive Officer of FBNBank Ghana says banks must reshape their products and services by providing a consolidated offering to meet shifting customer expectations.

He believes the shift in customer preferences will drive their demand for seamless banking transactions across different channels; instant payment on all transactions that are reliable and secure without any delay or interruptions; and digital payment products that are tailored to their needs and produce instant satisfaction for them.

Speaking on the topic: The Future of Banking Post the Global Pandemic at the 2020 Virtual Digital Banking Summit, Victor Yaw Asante highlighted the need for banks to embrace emerging technologies in the banking sector as that would drive changes in processes, products, and service offerings and engagement with customers.

According to him, the future of banking rests on three pillars: Customer Expectations, Emerging Technologies, and Optimal Business Model.

Mr. Asante suggested that banks need to focus on how to use data and insights to deliver a more customized, individual experience from content and insights, to the value proposition that a customer receives from their bank.

Shedding light on emerging technologies, Victor Yaw Asante stated that the fourth industrial revolution technologies will drive higher levels of customer experience and productivity in the banking industry. He said these technologies will combat data fragmentation and accelerate feedback loops to anticipate customer moments of need allowing banks to capture value quickly.

He emphasized that “bringing these technologies together allows for dynamic optimization, delivering a tailored product to a customer in the exact moment of need through a channel likely to maximize attention.”

He called on banks to operationalize business models that are adaptable to ensure that their institutions are nimble and can quickly respond to the rapid changes in the operating environment.

“In the post-pandemic era, banks have an opportunity to challenge themselves and ask how they can achieve zero latency, zero-touch, zero paper, across the board.

"They must continually invest to deliver innovative digital capabilities that leverage technologies to innovate faster and provide tailored products to meet changing customer needs and habits.”

At the same time, he tasked banks to reengineer their processes so as to contain cost and improve on efficiency while automating all their risk processes to ensure that risks are proactively mitigated in real-time.”  

He recounted the significant impact the rapid spread of the global pandemic, COVID-19 has had on the banking industry. This, he underlined, culminated in increased pressure on revenue and profitability; rating downgrades and impact on FX funding; decline in asset quality; operational constraints and vendor support challenges as well as heightened cyber-attacks as a result of the growing usage of digital channels by customers and the activation of remote work model by industry players.

Touching on the key imperatives for the banking industry, Victor Yaw Asante asked players to ensure they develop the right strategies in order to remain relevant given the evolving banking landscape and broader application of technology innovation.

The Digital Banking Summit is a C-Suite platform that creates a medium for discussions on global trends and disruption in Digital Banking, how market players can seize opportunities and respond to trends, while focusing on pertinent issues like FinTech disruption, Financial Inclusion, Block Chain and RegTech.

This year’s Summit was under the theme, “Digitization of Banking Sector – En Route to a Cashless Africa” and it was organized by the International Centre for Strategic Alliances (ICSA). FBNBank Ghana and its parent, First Bank of Nigeria Limited were the official banking partners of the 2020 Virtual Digital Banking Summit.