Forum for the Development of Cooperative Banks - banks in the era of new technologies

Changing economic environment, technological progress, and the expectations of new generations shape the direction of the development of financial services. Cooperative banks are an important element of the Polish financial sector. Therefore, it is crucial that they are properly prepared for the changes shaping the sector. That is why almost 180 representatives of cooperative and associating banks, the IPS system (ie institutional protection system) as well as the IT and media sector met on April 6 in Warsaw during the First Forum for the Development of Cooperative Banks. The strategic partner of the conference, organized by the National Association of Cooperative Banks (KZBS), was Asseco Poland - one of the largest software providers for the banking sector in Poland.

The speakers and panelists included, among others, President of the Management Board of KZBS Krystyna Majerczyk-Żabówka, Vice President of the Management Board of KZBS Michał Krakowiak, Vice President of the Management Board of Asseco Poland Zbigniew Pomianek and CEO of G Rock (Gibraltar) Sławomir Lachowski.

Efficient decision-making processes in cooperative banks may face a test due to a digital competition. The use of consumer preference analysis can be a competitive advantage in dealing with other players in the market. Even more profound knowledge of the customers' needs and their lifestyle will be a basis of business strategies in the era of new technologies and increased competition. Therefore, it will be a key factor for further development of attractive and competitive offers for customers - said President of the Management Board of KZBS Krystyna Majerczyk-Żabówka.

There are innovations which change the reality entirely. We currently experience them in the banking sector - said CEO of G Rock (Gibraltar) and the founder of the first mobile bank in Poland Sławomir Lachowski. Today, in order to meet customers' needs, the ability to use new technologies is essential. That can be achieved both by fintechs and existing banks - he added.

An important point of the meeting was a debate led by Eugeniusz Twaróg from Puls Biznesu on the Internet era in the banking sector and its impact on the customer service directly in the branches.

Co-operative banks have an interesting and valuable advantage because they can offer banking services at a certain place and time. However, in the face of current challenges, it is not a sufficient advantage. Therefore, it is worth to verify the current model of action and make an effort to maintain a cooperative identity while using the scale effect to achieve the goals expected by the clients in a faster, more efficient and effective way. The bank of the 21st century is a friendly, intuitive and cheaper bank - one that responds to customers' needs - said Vice President of the Management Board of KZBS Michał Krakowiak.

Up until recently, internet marketing has been a distinguishing feature in the market. In a moment, such a distinction for cooperative banks may be a branch, especially in the areas where large banks are not present - said Vice President of the Management Board of Asseco Poland Zbigniew Pomianek.

The banks can be supported by IT vendors that monitor market trends closely and offer cutting-edge solutions such as the Asseco Advisory Banking Platform (ABP) - a powerful tool for bankers to help them with staying connected with customers and boosting their sales effectiveness.

Marcin Kwilosz from Asseco, in his presentation, mentioned the fact that the omnichannel banking was a strategy to help banks with responding to the challenges of the modern banking market and the needs of customers. He emphasized that it was a strategy which needed to be a backbone of a modern banking, which involved designing customer service processes in order to make them uniform regardless of the communication channel they were in.

In turn, Krzysztof Korus, a partner at dLK Korus, Okoń Radcowie Prawni sp.p., presented the challenges and their implications for cooperative banks related to the obligation of the implementation of the PSD2 Directive - a new EU directive regarding the payments in the EU internal market. Cooperative banks will have to adapt their IT systems to the requirements of the new EU rules.

The conference participants also had an opportunity to see the latest developments in the IT solutions for the banking sector. The latest "top & hot" rank was presented by Tomasz Leś from Asseco, who mentioned, among others, tools for biometric identity authentication and the onboarding process, as well as platforms for cooperation between banks and fintechs. These platforms are being designed due to the implementation of the PSD2 Directive.