What’s your definition of ‘digital’ in banking?

A recent post by Jin Zwicky, VP of Experience Design at OCBC Bank, on the Next Bank Facebook forum asked, “What’s your definition of ‘digital’ in banking?” It has attracted more than 100 comments from the world’s top banking innovators, sharing their thoughts on the issue. I have tried to summarize and synthesize the thoughts of the dozens of participants in the discussion. They definitely provide a glimpse into the future of banking.
According to Steve Monaghan, Regional Head of Innovation at AIA, what digital essentially does is that it uses technology to design experiences, both seen and unseen. As Chief Innovation Officer at DBS Bank, I agreed posting, “Digital is all about making what can be seen unseen – making services so smooth and seamless that it becomes invisible to the customer.” I added, “Despite all the automation and improvements that digital banking has the potential to achieve, customers and their needs still form the very core of the banking sector.”
In fact, many of the comments made by the dozens of participants in the discussion revolved around simplicity of design, the removal of friction and the ability to improve the customer experience. Yann Ranchere, Director at Anthemis and Finance 2.0 blogger, put his perspective as succinctly as anyone by saying, “It’s making banking more human.” Brett King, CEO of Moven, author, speaker and radio host also provided a quick insight when he added, “Banks don’t need a head of digital, that’s the CEO. Therefore, digital in banking should just be best practice banking.”

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