Innovation: Is your bank down with it?
Of course, I’m sure it’s not that simple. After all, at banks innovation is not only defined by a new software or a new product but by the way processes are redefined in terms of value add, cost savings and a constant structured organizational growth. In such a scenario managing and measuring innovation becomes critical.
After identifying the drivers of innovation – implementation of new ideas, explicit focus on customers, establishing a customer insight team and using this insight systematically to develop new offerings and building tools to find solutions to customer problems – many banks have benchmarked their performance against other sectors, formally exchanging learning within competitive market. Such examples extol the virtues of ‘importing innovative thinking’ by using external consultants.
That’s just the beginning. By investing in leading edge technology banks have been able to configure products and services around emerging needs. They have access to a full range of insight techniques, including quantitative and data-orientated methodology and qualitative approaches. A case in point are the U.S. banks offering money transfer services to the large unbanked Hispanic segment through non-banking channels, counting on this leading to a formal relationship in future.
To me the future certainly seems to belong to the innovative service provider. Think of peer to peer ‘social lending’, global money transfer service using SMS text messaging and contactless stored value smart cards…and you’ll possibly begin to think my way. And ask “Is my bank down with it, yet?” !!
