Club Sibos Q1 2019 | Page 7

CORPORATES must balance regulatory requirements and customer requirements, she said, particularly as the regulatory agenda has moved up banks’ corporate agenda. Finally, customer centricity – achieved by listening to customers in order to help solve their problems, ensures fair outcomes for customers. Banks are going through the same digital transformation as their customers, Mark Ev- ans, managing director, transaction banking at ANZ, told Club@Sibos and must anticipate what their customers’ needs will be in the fu- ture. “It’s easy to get distracted with the latest digital technologies and start experimenting with them for their own sake. At ANZ, we’re mindful that we need to solve real-world problems of our customers, and with our dis- tributed ledger trials, for example, we made sure we were testing something that is useful before we develop it further.” He added that banks also need to decide what role they want to play: do they want to specialise in a particular digital offering? Do they want to offer an open platform for other providers’ services? Do they want to be the regulated entity that fintechs use for their own financial services? Context is important for the Australian Club @ Sibos bank, as Evans explained: “If you take typical Australian sectors like agribusiness or resources and energy, they are physical and tangible industries, but they are also undergoing a digital transformation. They have had to adapt and predict how digital technologies will shape the economy of the future. We are already seeing how our customers in these sectors are using the internet of things, smart data, distributed ledger technology, artificial intelligence and more to improve efficien- cies in their supply chain, improve safety, and make smarter decisions about their business. “Some of our customers, in our home markets of Australia and New Zealand and across our international footprint, are doing business in remote areas. Digital technologies are enabling financial inclusion, by transforming how people connect and do business, and connecting new groups of people into the economy. For example, it’s now easier to set up an ecommerce venture, to connect to payment systems, and to access finance.” Evans points out that the future isn’t just about digital technologies – it’s also about people. “Even with artificial intelligence or machine learn- ing, the development starts with humans; from the outset you have to have the right LISA VASIC, ANZ people with the right intent asking the right questions.” This is a point iGTB’s Jacobs also makes: “How we transform within the banking industry includes people and processes.” “Banks must understand clients are looking for an experience that is easy, transparent and provides value.” www.clubsibos.com | CLUB@SIBOS | 7