We are progressing at a good pace in our digital transformation and obtaining very positive results

Javier Rubio (Madrid, 1983) is the Business Development Director at BBVA in Switzerland. The area he heads is key to the bank's transformation in Switzerland. For the nearly two years he has been in office, the bank has made the biggest digital transformation in its history. We interviewed him to find out first-hand how BBVA's international private banking digital transformation is progressing in Switzerland. How's the transformation going? In June 2017, we started our digital transformation project, with a very clear objective, which was to provide our customers with the best opportunities of the digital era so that their equity and investments could be managed more easily. In this vein, we decided to invest in the provision of a new customer experience using new digital platforms, based on simple and transparent access to information, and to offer the possibility to perform all types of transactions safely and conveniently from anywhere and at any time. To date, the digital transformation is progressing at a good pace and obtaining very positive results. What is your approach when developing projects? In the team, we work in cooperation with all areas of the bank to develop digital solutions that take into account the following three approaches: 1) Customer experience: through product design techniques, improving and customizing how the customers interact with their equity and investments in digital banking 2) Digitizing the offer: making the largest number of products and services available to customers so that they can be in contact with the bank at any time 3) Connecting transparently: being a clear catalyst to boost the relationship between the customer and the Banking Relationship Director, providing both of them with the necessary tools to have value-added interactions when managing equity. What are the digital solutions that you develop? We have many examples of digital solutions. For example, we have invested a lot into making the entry into digital banking safe and easy, using fingerprints in the Mobile app and the Access Key which is useful for both. This was a real problem that we detected due to the number of mistakes and errors when entering access codes. Customers also have access to all types of excerpts on our platforms, they can analyze their investment returns in different ways, consolidate their portfolios, transfer money in various currencies, invest and follow up on the digital investment proposal forms that the team receives from investment specialists, and safely communicate with the bank, among many other solutions. What are you and your team working on at the moment? In today's world, where technology is advancing at whirlwind rates, evolution is constant, so our team in Switzerland does not stop. We work to provide new digital solutions for customers which we present each year in quarterly delivery cycles, and successively improve upon them with new developments. For example, in this last quarter we finished presenting two projects:

• Corporate actions and events: improving on the solution we presented at the end of 2018, we incorporated the possibility for customers to simply choose the option best for them when they receive a dividend, or responding to the offer to repurchase a corporate bonus, as well as other types of corporate events.

 

• The automatic notification service on mobile: through which customers can customize the notifications they wish to receive on the mobile APP when money comes in and out; when balances in accounts are confirmed; when investment proposals, corporate actions, new documents, messages and others are received.

For the rest of the year, we will present new projects that we are currently working on, which we hope will surprise our customers. Is the transformation being received well by private banking customers? The success of the operation is reflected not only in the number of projects that are being delivered faster and faster by a team that prioritizes innovation, quality and delivery speed, but also in the data we're analyzing from user entries, the number of transactions and digital sales, which show double-digit increases in a few months. In a type of banking where customers were traditionally not used to having the bank at arm's reach, it is surprising to see how visits are increasing month by month and how customers are communicating their satisfaction and ideas. Some of the products and improvements we make are being proposed directly by customers, which is a source of satisfaction for us all. There are sometimes instances where customer's children are more actively involved in the relationship, probably because they belong to the digital generation, and they expect the same from private banking as they do from other companies such as Amazon or Netflix, for example. What stands out from what you've learned throughout the whole process? Private banking customers are very curious. One tends to think that the technology and the solutions we develop impact all parts of the world equally, but the reality of the data we analyze shows the opposite; we have found countries where customers and their relationship with the bank cannot be understood without the technology at arm's reach, such as Turkey, and other countries in Latin America, where adoption has been more gradual. We are analyzing data so as to understand the customer better and to provide a more customized service to fit their needs. In terms of lessons learned, I would emphasize that technology is an opportunity to provide customers with access to better financial management. We, as banks can also greatly improve our services and customize them to suit customers.  Another important lesson is to measure impact through data analysis, to constantly improve and to create new solutions. Finally, all this work can only be carried out with the help of a great team of professionals who have the necessary vision, motivation and ambition. With a lot of effort and dedication, we are becoming a digital banking benchmark in private banking. We were the first to use the digital signature and to have a digital advisory platform in Switzerland, and we hope we can continue to be a benchmark in the future due to our capacity for innovation and to provide excellent customer experience.