Trends on Bank Windhoek’s radar
Relevant player in changing world
The Capricorn Group strategy team tracks global and local developments and banking trends as part of its strategic review process.
The Covid-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the banking industry.
For most leading banks, the pre-Covid approach of incremental change and experimentation has been superseded by the need for rapid digital transformation and a willingness to challenge conventional business models.
Empowered customers are becoming more demanding on multiple dimensions, from service fees to sustainability, and new entrants are more ambitious in their scope of services.
Customers’ changing financial reality in a post-Covid-19 world will inform their perception of value, resulting in changing banking needs and preferences. As part of Capricorn Group, Bank Windhoek is proactively meeting the challenge of developing a balanced/hybrid model that supports elements of “old” and “new” ways of banking to generate value for customers.
DIGITAL ERA
Customers are naturally inclined to look out for value for money, especially when cash is tight. Low-cost and fee-free digital banking offerings are gaining traction globally and attracting new banking clients.
Digital banks, because they are often branchless or maintain limited physical locations, tend to provide an intuitive online and mobile banking experience alongside customer support that is attentive and easy to reach.
Digital banking has traditionally meant offering the customer the ability to check balances and pay bills.
Now, banks continuously enhance their online platforms and apps by adding increased functionality, often in collaboration with fintech and other partners. This can include a range of new payment options and online shopping services.
Banks also add non-banking functionality to their services to compete for customer attention. For example, banks offer advice, tools and digital marketplaces for small businesses to promote themselves online.
ENVIRONMENT
In the future, investors and regulators will not be satisfied with empty environmental promises as they urge financial firms to become better environmental stewards. Banks will face immense pressure to redirect credit away from carbon-heavy companies and fund renewable energy.
Many banks will embrace the change and adopt a stricter stance toward their customers’ environmental footprints.
The market for sustainable finance continues to grow, surpassing the trillion dollar mark in 2021, a high point in the rise of a sub-sector that did not exist a decade ago.
Sustainable bond issuance now accounts for one-tenth of the global debt capital markets.
For most leading banks, the pre-Covid approach of incremental change and experimentation has been superseded by the need for rapid digital transformation and a willingness to challenge conventional business models.
Empowered customers are becoming more demanding on multiple dimensions, from service fees to sustainability, and new entrants are more ambitious in their scope of services.
Customers’ changing financial reality in a post-Covid-19 world will inform their perception of value, resulting in changing banking needs and preferences. As part of Capricorn Group, Bank Windhoek is proactively meeting the challenge of developing a balanced/hybrid model that supports elements of “old” and “new” ways of banking to generate value for customers.
DIGITAL ERA
Customers are naturally inclined to look out for value for money, especially when cash is tight. Low-cost and fee-free digital banking offerings are gaining traction globally and attracting new banking clients.
Digital banks, because they are often branchless or maintain limited physical locations, tend to provide an intuitive online and mobile banking experience alongside customer support that is attentive and easy to reach.
Digital banking has traditionally meant offering the customer the ability to check balances and pay bills.
Now, banks continuously enhance their online platforms and apps by adding increased functionality, often in collaboration with fintech and other partners. This can include a range of new payment options and online shopping services.
Banks also add non-banking functionality to their services to compete for customer attention. For example, banks offer advice, tools and digital marketplaces for small businesses to promote themselves online.
ENVIRONMENT
In the future, investors and regulators will not be satisfied with empty environmental promises as they urge financial firms to become better environmental stewards. Banks will face immense pressure to redirect credit away from carbon-heavy companies and fund renewable energy.
Many banks will embrace the change and adopt a stricter stance toward their customers’ environmental footprints.
The market for sustainable finance continues to grow, surpassing the trillion dollar mark in 2021, a high point in the rise of a sub-sector that did not exist a decade ago.
Sustainable bond issuance now accounts for one-tenth of the global debt capital markets.
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article