The global banking sector is witnessing numerous rapid changes in the modern era, as technology transforms the way money is managed and provides many digital alternatives to traditional banking services.
Various reports highlight the importance of global digital banks. For example, a banking report listed some of the most significant banks as follows:
BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas is the eighth largest bank in the world by assets, and the bank has devised a strategic plan aimed at significantly increasing its technology investments to $3.2 billion by the end of this year.
JPMorgan Chase
As one of the leading financial institutions in the world, JPMorgan Chase has one of the largest technology budgets. In 2018, according to research, the company allocated $10.8 billion for technology spending, with $5 billion designated for investments in financial technology.
Santander Bank
The leading Spanish bank announced its intention to invest €20 billion in technology over the next four years, significantly enhancing its transformational efforts.
HSBC
The bank’s investments in technological transformation amounted to approximately $2.3 billion between 2015 and 2017. It also allocated $200 million to expand financial technology opportunities. In 2019, the bank integrated the SWIFT Global Payments Innovation (GPI) service into its HSBCnet Track Payments feature, allowing customers to log into their accounts via security options like fingerprint and facial recognition. Additionally, it launched an app called MyDeal that aggregates data from capital market transactions.
Barclays
Over the past decade, Barclays has heavily invested in its technological capabilities and digital offerings in the UK, where its headquarters is located. The company’s Digital Eagles program has been increasing digital literacy among people since 2013.
Bank of America
The digital transformation of Bank of America has led to several exciting solutions for its clients. “Erica,” the bank’s AI-driven digital financial assistant, completed requests for 50 million customers in its first year of operation, while enhancements to its online and mobile banking capabilities ensure customers enjoy a seamless experience across all services.
UniCredit
In January of last year, UniCredit established a Transformation and Innovation Advisory Board to create a “Bank of the Future,” serving as a platform to test new digital and IT solutions. This is largely due to the bank’s branches in various markets showing greater openness to new types of services. Over the past four years, the bank has launched several digitally-enabled services and products and is leading the digital transformation in Italy by applying blockchain technology among Italian banks to address the interbank transfer crisis faced by the Italian banking system.
RBS
The bank, partially owned by the Scottish government, has updated its client offerings with the latest technological and financial solutions. It has implemented a range of technologies to enhance customer experience, including Bankline, a solution that simplifies payments and offers customizable dashboards and extended navigation features for corporate and retail banking clients. The bank has also introduced speaking ATM experiences to enable blind and visually impaired customers to operate ATMs independently, along with RPA solutions to speed up customer inquiries.
BBVA
The Spanish banking giant operates under the motto of being the most digitally mature bank in the world. BBVA’s shift to digital banking has been remarkably successful, with solutions developed based on the top fifty reasons customers visit branches, resulting in streamlined and effective products that are reusable across its operational markets.
Deutsche Bank
Germany’s largest bank allocated €13 billion to develop digital systems and technology investments through 2022. The bank announced a restructuring plan and significant strategic transformations, aiming to cut 18,000 jobs by 2020 and exit its equity sales and trading business.
