The benefits offered by banks to operate through their digital media are becoming increasingly aggressive. This modality, which emerged as a way to encourage the use of alternative channels to traditional branches, became a vital issue for the financial system to gain efficiency, in an increasingly competitive context.
Thus, entities offer a higher rate for fixed terms, a lower cost for loans and, even, a better price for those who buy dollars in this way.
At the same time, the main players in the sector are renewing their electronic face, adding new functionalities to their digital banking, facilitating processes and making them more agile and intuitive, in order to improve the user experience.
"The big change in the channels today aims to accelerate the adoption model based on the behavior of customers," says Paolo Feller, manager of Digital Channels and Contact Center of Hipotecario, who in mid-May re-launched its home banking.To define the renewal, the company conducted a series of tests among its users to analyze how they would navigate naturally to find a function.
"What it leaves is a heat map so that when launching the new tool, penetration or adoption is quick and customers are happy," explains Feller.The same with fewer clicks
As a result of the tests, and in line with the renewal of its web channel, the Mortgage performed an analysis of the functionalities to shorten the times of the transactions and thus could reduce them in three clicks.
"If access to a loan before required seven steps, now it has shrunk to 4. Transfers, for example, were just two clicks away", Feller enthuses, adding: "What we are noticing is that customers are increasingly They want to have everything resolved in less time. "Galicia relaunched its home banking in March of last year taking as reference standards of design, usability and state-of-the-art technology.
"The new Online Banking comes with a substantial improvement in the simplicity of its operation, the technological update significantly increases the availability of services", says iProUP Fernando Giannoni, manager of Digital Channels of Banco Galicia.
In parallel, he added, new online product sales processes were incorporated, such as UVA personal loans, progress was made in an upgrade of services and in the commercialization of packages.Much more than an attractive design
From Galicia point out that, beyond the redesign of the site, focused on improving the customer experience. In particular in:
- Strengthen the technological capabilities and stability of the online channel
- Efficientize all the operations modules
- Incorporate new online sales capabilities
- Implement artificial intelligence to simplify risk operations
- Facilitate the opening and closing of accounts via the web
- Implement the Token, a more robust security method that replaces the coordinate cardRegarding the benefits provided by banks to operate through the Internet, one of them was accentuated in recent weeks by a regulation of the Central Bank: offer a much more attractive rate for the fixed terms established from the web or mobile, regarding the branch.
At this point, what the monetary agency did was to enable the possibility that an online deposit can be made in any entity, regardless of whether the person is a client or not, thus seeking to generate a war of interest rates that encourages savers to turn to the peso instead of going to the dollar.
The one that tipped the most attractive "prize" was Banco Nación, which initially proposed 52% to then raise it to 55% annually, when the market barely paid between 45% and 50% for 30-day loans. The result? in the first 15 days it completed 16,828 operations, capturing more than $ 2,777 million.
Behind the Nation happened to locate the BICE, which started with a lower rate but now led to 56%, seeking not to leave the Nation alone in this crusade led by the public.Fixed term with higher performanceRegarding the benefit offered by each bank to make deposits through digital channels, the improvement is around 3 percentage points compared to those who attend a branch.
The City, for example, offers 43% per annum, while through its Home Banking it pays up to 46% for all segments.
In the case of BIND Banco Industrial, they state: "We are offering 50% through BIND 24, our Home Banking". From the entity they assure that as part of their strategy of short and medium term, "they hope to continue increasing the operation by the digital channels".
The list of signatures that reward those who are handled via the Internet is increasingly extensive.
Also from the Macro as in the Mortgage confirm to iProUP that they offer better rates to those who make their deposits through digital channels instead of going to the branch.
Judging from the results, the strategy has been successful: according to Feller, 70% of fixed retail installments are already carried out in this way and, in the case of the investment center, almost 90% of the portfolio is operated through online.Loans at lower ratesAnother advantage that the different players are proposing is the most accessible interest rate for those who take credit, generally linked to the financing of consumption.
"We offer 2 points less than the branch rate for all those who take personal loans," warns iProUP Lucas Rodríguez Mir, manager of ICBC's Retail Banking Loans.
"Two years ago we started with this policy and from there it started strongly, there are months in which almost 40% of the credits came from the web," he says.
The Macro, through its digital media, offers personal loans with immediate accreditation, and from the entity highlight that "customers who start to operate in digital mode also accumulate extra bonus points."
Also by virtue of a better rate in personal loans, in the Mortgage the electronic channel already represents 20%. In addition, 15% of the purchase of your packages and accounts is done by Home Banking, where they also offer more benefits.Dollars for less pesos
As for the purchase and sale of dollars, banks offer a better price when the operation is done over the Internet, which kept people away from branches to the point of making the long lines disappear, which, in each exchange part of the City postcards.In addition, other players also compete in this business, such as stockbrokers (now called ALYC, Clearing and Clearing Agents), who also fight on the web.
Of the different products offered by banks in this way, the purchase of foreign currency is the one that gained the most number of followers. Partly for the best price, but also for the safety of not having to carry cash.
The banks consulted by iProUP recognize that between 80% and 90% of the total transaction is already coming from the electronic modality and only the remaining 10% corresponds to people who attend the branches.
From the Mortgage, for example, they indicate that it represents 90% of their exchange operations.
One of the keys is the differentiated price, something in which they put emphasis in the last weeks, not only proposing a better quotation but also reducing to $ 1 the points of purchase and sale, while the rest of the banks shows a spread of minus $ 2 between both quotes.
Another factor that also exerts its influence, according to Feller, is that the extension of the time to buy or sell tickets (until 9 o'clock at night). "That was extended in the first months of the year", recalls the manager of the Mortgage that, in the last hours, received the "LIDE Technology 2019 Award" for the implementation of the architecture of APIs and Microservices at scale, which enabled digital onboarding through the platform www.buhobank.com.ar.The City offers by electronic means a quote on average 5 cents below that of the branch. The Supervielle, meanwhile, offers dollars up to 10 cents cheaper and the French, just a few cents.
Among the ALYCs, one of the most aggressive in terms of securities in the foreign exchange market is Balanz, which usually offers a lower value to the average. The entity entered the market in April last year, from the deregulation that Federico Sturzenegger propitiated at the time, for which he allowed the registration as agents of change to new entities.
"We have a particularity with respect to banks and other stock exchange companies: we operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, we maintain the closing price (the market concludes at 15) until the market reopens," says Daniel Vicien, director of Balanz Mutual Funds.
They add that since 3 months they started offering the service of changes 24 hours and since then they have not stopped growing.
"From the first month the number of transactions multiplied by 20. Today we are having 8,000 transactions per month for a volume close to $ 1 million per day between purchase and sale, In March it grew almost 50% compared to February. % compared to March ", details Vicien.What comesIn the medium term, the use of digital channels promises to gain ground in the financial system, with new functionalities. "In August we will launch a new module that has to do with omnichannel: no matter where the acquisition of a product begins, the client will be able to continue and conclude the process anywhere," explains Feller, of the Mortgage.
For example, you can start it in Home Banking and finish it in branches, or start with Mobile Banking and continue in Home Banking, how the client wants, accurate.
For its part, the Macro has set a specific goal for 2019: to grow more than 40% in digital users and, particularly, more than 150% in those who use the app.
Among those initiatives in which they are working in the Macro, they highlight the development of a simplified application to enhance the relationship with those customers who have not yet started a digital experience with the bank.
Looking to the future, the projects that are in the Macro folder are aimed at making transfers by WhatsApp, grant immediate salary advances and offer tools to people with different abilities.As you can see, the offer through digital channels will be increasing, along with more benefits and functionalities that will accompany the technological advance.
In parallel, more banks will be renewing their Home Banking, aiming at greater agility in use and to make them more friendly with customers.