Banking on digital

Nations Trust Bank PLC is one of Sri Lanka’s fastest growing licensed commercial banks, offering a wide, comprehensive range of solutions to individuals, SMEs, corporates and institutions. The bank strongly believes that change is needed within the organisation and the financial services sector as a whole for it to survive and thrive in the future.In an interview, Nations Trust Bank Chief Operating Officer ThilakPiyadigamaexplains how the future of banking is digital and how Nations Trust Bank is preparing to meet that future. Following are excerpts:

Q: Tell us about 

digital banking?

A: Digital banking is a journey. One of our major digital initiatives is our upgraded mobile banking app, which has full trilingual support, a first in Sri Lanka. We’ve also incorporated biometric authentication for speed of access and extra security. Our end-goal is to create a true omni-channel experience for the Sri Lankan market. We have even integrated the look and feel from our branches into our digital offering to give customers a familiar experience. 

Q: Tell us more about the mobile banking app?

A: We have paid a lot of attention to UI and UX to make navigation easy and user-friendly, hiring UI/UX experts from Sri Lanka and abroad to develop the app. I myself am an UI/UX enthusiast and every time I press a button, I ask myself: is this the right place to put a button?

Earlier this year the Nations mobile banking app had a major upgrade that made 100% online registration possible, so you never have to visit a physical branch. Given that 60% to 80% of Sri Lankans use smartphones today, this is a major benefit and will be a make or break point in the future.

Since the launch earlier in the year, the rate of acquisition has been excellent and we have now crossed the Rs. 7 billion mark in terms of transaction value. Currently the app provides access to most of our products and services and we are working to enable the platform to provide 100% of retail banking services in the near future. Even for SMEs, we are looking at offering services via digital channels. 

Q: What are the challenges you’ve had to overcome and still have to overcome on the digital journey?

A: We have had to overcome not only technological challenges in our digital quest but also legal challenges. The legal framework for digital banking in Sri Lanka was not quite ready, but the regulator, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, has worked very hard to enable digital transactions and now the ground is set for the digital revolution to take place and we at Nations Trust intend to play a pivotal role in it. New legislation for digital banking is also in the pipeline.

The next thing was ease of use because no one wants to be made to feel out of place by technology so we have overcome many challenges to make the app truly user friendly. The mobile banking app and our digital services as a whole are designed to be used by anyone in any age group.

We are also continuously working to implement new technologies, for example our app was enabled with facial recognition capabilities ever since the major upgrade but we are only now seeing the technology being adopted by major smartphone manufacturers like Apple, with the new iPhone X.

In keeping with our digital plan we want to market our digital services largely through digital platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter among others, which can be challenging.

As a bank we are also very concerned with CSR and reducing our carbon footprint, particularly our usage of paper and this fits in perfectly with our digital strategy. The ultimate goal is to go completely paperless. 

Q: What digital plans for the immediate future?

A: The next release of the mobile banking app will carry a promotions feature, including location and preference based promotions powered by big data and analytics. For example, I’m an avid golfer so I’ll probably be provided with targeted material related to golf and suppose I was passing a department store or café, I might get a special targeted offer based on my location.

Soon, our digital platforms will let customers access services like loans and credit cards 100% online. We’re also streamlining our processes so if, for example, we collect your phone number once, we will not ask for it again. 

Q: Could you tell us 

about your other 

digital channels?

A: We have a number of different digital channels. For example, mobile banking, online banking, ATMs and CDMs and in the future we want to synchronise credentials, which means you can use one user ID and one PIN for all of these platforms and our ATMs have already begun offering card-less transactions. Digital banking is simply the front end of our bank delivered to customers in a seamless and frictionless manner.

Another major digital initiative of ours is the launch of FriMi, which is a fully-fledged digital bank that facilitates payments as well and is backed by Nations Trust Bank. It’s unlike any other platform in Sri Lanka and while an e-wallet facility is a core feature, FriMi provides a full virtual banking experience and allows Sri Lankans to open aninterest earning bank account 100% online for the first time. In addition to this, FriMi accounts and transactions are backed by Nations Trust Bank so it’s very safe and reliable.

The platform provides numerous lifestyle services such as recommendations for purchases and some of the best offers we’ve ever seen in Sri Lanka such as 99% off for purchases up to Rs. 5,000 at a popular retailer recently. 

Q: What about information security in the 

digital future?

A: Information security is a key focus area for us. We’re an ISO 27001 certified organisation and maintain world class standards in terms of information security and go through audits every six months. We’ve spent over Rs. 100 million last year to upgrade our firewalls andwork with companies of global reputethatuse ethical hacking to ensure the strength and integrity of our systems. 

Q: Are there any final thoughts you’d like to share?

A: There are great things to come in the future and with the launch of iPhone X. I am excited about possibly implementing something similar to Animoji for our customers to communicate with us. Digital banking is a journey that is likely to never end. We’ll keep changing, even disrupting things we’ve already done so that we can implement something better. Nearly 50% of retail transaction volumes are now coming through digital and this will only increase. We are preparing for the future of banking, which is digital.