The head of digitization at Credit Suisse in Switzerland is working hard to develop the bank's products and IT architecture. Now she is eyeing external partners to provide an even better customer experience.
Banks are forced to make their offerings more digital due to shrinking margins and tougher competition from within their industry as well as fintech newcomers. Credit Suisse is no exception to this rule.
The bank has some way to go towards its goal. «The digital rebuild and opening of banking are a long journey,» said Credit Suisse Switzerland’s digital boss Anke Bridge Haux in an interview with «Finanz und Wirtschaft».
External Service Providers
The most important part of this journey is the so-called digital customer experience. Instead of the traditional, isolated communication channels, the bank will introduce a comprehensive package with better visibility of the client to ensure a closer connection with his or her bank.
Bridge Haux, who’s been in charge of digitization in Switzerland since December 2016, is looking at what is going on inside the bank but also to external sources, mainly financial startups. «We are evaluating partnerships to satisfy the demands,» she added.
Money Available for Cooperation
It is hardly surprising that Credit Suisse made available 30 million Swiss francs in investment capital for Swiss fintechs, as reported by finews.ch yesterday (in German).
The aging IT infrastructure may not be of great help in the bank’s quest to become more digital. But Bridge Haux does see some advantages with the old system because of its wealth of expertise. «It gives us a sense of stability, even if the old infrastructure often is very product focused.»
Credit Suisse aspires to go it step by step, renewing the infrastructure gradually instead of in one gigantic step. The digital head said it is not enough to simply automatize old processes, but instead it was necessary to rethink the entire process.
The traditional closed banking system also is at loggerheads with the trend towards open banking. The question is how an established bank can open its infrastructure for additional digital services and yet remain relevant for its customers.
PSD2: Soon in Switzerland too?
In this context, the European Union implemented the PSD2 regulation at the beginning of this year, opening the banks’ monopoly on account data. Financial services firms in the EU henceforth will need to provide third-party providers of services with an access to accounts and data of customers. The rule may not apply to Swiss bank but it is only a question of time before a similar rule will be implemented in Switzerland.
Bridge Haux said that Credit Suisse Switzerland would also open itself up, but also had to maintain the necessary data security. Bank wouldn’t be able to provide their customers with the service they demanded without a level of absolute security.
