Digital Branch Evolution of Societe Generale Bank

Today, there is not a single large bank that has not embarked on a digital journey that Societe Generale chose as far back as 2013. Online banking products, communication with banks’ representatives via video and chat option is something that banking now implies in 2018.

However, in 2013 and 2014 that was not the case. It was visionary and courageous to make such a decision and then be persistent to keep it up.

– Nonetheless, we were not alone on that journey. By following current trends in IT, banking and other industries, our partners from New Frontier Innova (NF Innova) have always been by our side, presenting emerging opportunities and trends in modern technologies, regardless of the industry these innovations originated from. One such example was the video call option. Due to our Personal Banker Concept and our aim to be the first bank to implement real time online communication with its clients, we were certain that video call would be the option to provide our customers that personal touch much needed on digital channels. NF Innova expertise in digital signature technology developed for the Republic of Serbia has been of great help in the development of our Digital Branch – points out Aleksandar Blagojevic, Digital Branch & Support Manager at Societe Generale Bank Serbia.

Now, after two years of more than successful implementation of the Digital Branch, he believes that several decisions have had a significant impact on its success. Among the reasons is that the Digital Branch is not cut off as an individual brand or legal entity, but is a part of the bank’s multi-channel environment.

– The most important was the fact that the branch and the contact center employees have all recognized this new channel as a means for a quicker response to customers’ needs and requests. To put it simply, the process of overdraft renewal, which lasted 30 minutes on average, was reduced 6 times to an amazing 5 minutes by using the Digital Branch. This resulted in a WOW effect, even with the clients who had not used e-banking before – Blagojevic says.

Another important factor was the inclusion of a large number of IT startup community representatives as well as online marketing experts to promote the Digital Branch concept. It has even resulted in a large number of them using SG`s online services themselves.

– Continuous improvements have been carried out in the past years based on the insights of our clients and the employees who promoted the Digital Branch. For an even quicker response to ever growing market demands, we adopted the Agile approach to projects in 2016 – Blagojevic says and adds that, in addition to improving the existing offer and thanks to the flexibility of the platform, the bank was able to integrate its partners’ offers in various ways, such as insurance purchase, one-click payment, and even deliver its services via partners’ applications.

Aleksandar notes that this journey has not been as easy as it seems, including the technological challenges. As with all advanced technologies, there is always room for improvement, so the initial video call solution had to be upgraded, with unwithered support from their partner, NF Innova. Now, a new and improved video call solution includes co-browsing technology. The bank`s operators, but most importantly its customers are extremely satisfied with the new solution. The average rating on this service is 4.7 out of 5 and the number of sessions is measured in thousands per month.

– The personal satisfaction that we have all felt during the realization of the Digital Branch project was crowned with the acknowledgment from the Societe Generale Group presented to SoGe Serbia, for the best innovative retail banking solution in 2016 developed by NF Innova, as a part of the eBanking integrated platform.

As Blagojevic announces, the short-term plan is to replace digital signature certificates with two-factor authentication digital certificates, which will increase the multitude of online processes, without the need to exchange any printed documents.

– Furthermore, we intend to continue working on our AI NLP BOT solution “Sožeta”, with the aim to teach her to be a true financial advisor to our clients. We intend to achieve this with the support of our partners and increasing involvement of our clients in the development process itself – Aleksandar Blagojevic says.

OTP banka Srbija a.d. Novi Sad

NF Innova Beograd

Societe Generale Bank Serbia

Societe Generale

SoGe Bank

New Frontier Innova

NF Innova

digital banking

online banking

Digital Branch of Societe Generale Bank

video call

innovations

Aleksandar Blagojevic

online marketing

Agile approach

one click payment

banking apps

co browsing technology

qualified digital certificates

chat bot Sozeta