They were not "essential" in the first stage of the isolation decreed by the Government, but the long lines for collecting pensions started a time trial process in banks to implement new measures, such as previous shifts and teleworking.
Now, the sector is delineating how its operations will continue after quarantine and it foresees changes in customer service, more investments in technology and mixed modalities of face-to-face and remote work in the entities.
In effect, entities are already thinking about what the "day after" will be like and the return to activity in the context of the "new normal", as the pandemic imposed strong changes with no point of return.
During the quarantine, Santander opened more than 20,000 digital accounts, more than 3.5 million service invoices were paid online and withdrawals at ATMs and without cards were multiplied by six. In this context, the entity indicates to iProUP that the post-quarantine challenges will be linked to technological change and new ways of operating and working.
"We will focus on improving processes and technology to serve the customer where and how they prefer it," they anticipate in dialogue with iProUP. The firm sees the emergence of a more demanding and sophisticated consumer of financial services, and they assure that providing fast and quality responses will be essential to stay competitive.
From Banco Macro, they also contribute significant numbers: income to Internet Banking and the App grew by 44%, exceeding one million daily income; 65,000 new customers obtained their registration using digital on-boarding and the number of queries to the virtual assistant "eMe" of the entity increased 246%.
In this sense, Milagro Medrano, Manager of Institutional Relations and Customer Service of Macro highlights that "customers and the general public are already much more digital than before the pandemic" and attributes this to "financial education and transformation digital have come true. "
For his part, Maximiliano Coll, deputy general manager of Banco Ciudad, anticipates iProUP that "the adoption of digital payment methods and alternative service channels, which had already been growing along with innovations, will be favored by changes in habits "
"This will result, the day after, in greater agility in banking operations and will also help to decompress activity in branches," he adds. As a result, the next steps include launching new digital platforms for individuals and incorporating 100% remote sale of accounts, cards and personal loans through self-management systems.
Meanwhile, Hernán Carboni, Director of Institutional Relations at BBVA, confides to iProUP that this crisis will leave a positive experience. In his vision, the main challenge will be "to support society for the development of its activities and to offer individuals and companies solutions to continue their businesses."
"We believe that everything will change, that we will face a new normality that will force us to readapt," anticipates the BBVA executive.
Medrano, for his part, points out that, so far in the quarantine, 1.2 million shifts were granted via the web at Macro and predicts that customers will no longer want to queue up at a branch again. However, he maintains that "physical branches will continue to exist, although we are immersed in a replacement, in a different way of thinking about them."
Meanwhile, for ICBC, a stage of greater financial inclusion is coming because of the immersion in digital. "More technology, solutions with lower costs, less need for cash and integration of a greater number of users are the guidelines that mark the way forward," Andrés Lozano, Head of Business and People Banking, told iProUP.
With this in mind and the focus on digitization, the entity works on two fronts:
- The first, aimed at the acquisition and use of financial products through digital channels
- The second, aimed at eliminating paperwork at branches and making full progress in assisted self-service
"What we achieved in this period was to generate capacities in record time to modify processes and functionalities," Ezequiel Valls, Leader of the Everyday Tribe of Galicia, told iProUP. And he adds that the implemented changes will allow "showing us as a more accessible and simple bank to operate".
The digitization that other sectors of the economy had in process was already a reality in banks when the quarantine was established. Some of them were already implementing remote working strategies.
On the BBVA side, Carboni assures that "the path of digital transformation is something that had been going on prior to the context. The coronavirus helped reinforce this concept and validate our actions." In the same sense, Valls, from Galicia, remarks that "this trend will accelerate".
Medrano confirms that the technological leap is here to stay at Macro and anticipates that "that the clients who experienced the digital transformation, who jumped over that barrier, who saw that it was safe and easy and that they can do everything from the APP or from Internet Banking" , they perceive it as a quality leap.
Her colleagues, meanwhile, note that they are preparing to receive a new customer profile that:
- It will be more demanding
- Demand immediate solutions to your problems
- You will save less loyalty to an entity (due to the greater number of options available)
- Will demand a better quality of care
- You will claim faster in all kinds of procedures
- Will migrate from cash to other payment methods
- You will carry out most of your operations online
The manager from Galicia provides conclusive data: digitization grew from March to April, the equivalent of more than a year and a half of evolution, driven by the need for customers to operate under a new modality.
"We expanded the broadband provision and resources to connect from home fivefold," reveals ICB Lozano, who believes that the quarantine triggered accelerated learning.
In a similar direction, from Santander they add that "the investment in digitization and remote assistance carried out allowed us to adapt more quickly to this context". Coll, from the City, contributes the view from public banking and confirms the rush towards online described by his colleagues in the private sector.
The unprecedented situation of social isolation made the Central Bank implement, among other measures, new operating regulations (with a previous shift) to which the entities had to adapt. In addition, the digital channel became essential in the relationship with the user.
At this point, the numbers are revealing again. According to Galicia, the conversations of the users with the virtual assistant GALA multiplied by four and the consultations through social networks and mail grew six times.
Meanwhile, ICBC accelerated the improvements included in its road map to offer solutions adapted to new operating modalities, such as a better user experience in navigation, the availability of pre-cancellable UVA deadlines and other paperless transactions.
From BBVA, Carboni stresses that "customers also adapted to the online mode and that forces them to provide comprehensive solutions that cover their needs 100% through that channel." In addition, he predicts that the shift system is here to stay: "Having an assigned wait is something that all of us as users find pleasant and is a good practice in quality of care."
Banco Ciudad, meanwhile, intensified the dissemination of the different ways of operating remotely and arranged a wide deployment for its telephone and social media support, also extending the hours of its Facebook chatbot.
Santander already had its online shift system before the quarantine, which has now become general. "It was very well adopted, given that it orders and makes the service predictable, which allows it to be improved," remarks the manager.
The experience that the representatives of the different entities have reflects that it was a challenging scenario, but to which they were able to adapt.
Today, they are already thinking about how to face the day after quarantine and, although the future is still uncertain, it appears marked by an undeniable advance in digitization, turn-based care and new customer demands.
Aware of this, and based on its previous experience, banks are heating up engines to take advantage of the new opportunities that the "new normality" will generate.