Traditional banks are incorporating new hybrid operating models at an international level as well as in our country in order to remain competitive against digital banks, with the aim of not only maintaining their clientele but also increasing it, focusing on the new generations.

According to BCG international research, for the first time in 2022 an online banking platform, the Monzo was chosen as the bank of choice by 50% of its customers, while a year ago this percentage was only 25%. According to BCG’s study entitled “Banks must create powerful hybrid experiences as challengers press digital advantage”, the ever-increasing competitiveness of digital banks is primarily due to the possibility of a quick and easy process of opening a bank account combined with access to mobile applications telephony that provide a personalized experience and services to users.

According to the study, at an international level beyond personalized services, the low commissionsthe competitive interest rates and attractive rewards programs further strengthen the position of digital banks.

At the same time, traditional banks maintain their competitive advantage in security issues, while customers still prefer the store network for many of their daily transactions. According to BCG research, when it comes to complex transactions or complex products, customers prefer face-to-face communication and in-store visits.

In view of these findings, the traditional banks are called upon to accelerate their transformation following three basic strategies.

Firstlyinvesting in hybrid experiences, leveraging mobile applications to create day-to-day customer contact and realigning the store network by moving lower value transactions to digital channels.

Secondlyinvesting in cybersecurity and fraud protection to safeguard their competitive security edge.

Thirdly, traditional banks must prioritize innovation in Environmental, Social Responsibility and Governance (ESG) issues and effectively communicate their progress in this area. ESG issues are becoming an important selection factor, especially for new and higher-income customers, i.e. customers with the greatest current and future value to the bank.

Greek banks

“Greek systemic banks have already made significant strides with continued investment in their platforms and mobile banking in their effort to maintain their newly acquired digital customer base during the pandemic. With the percentage of Greeks using the Internet for banking services having more than doubled in the last five years, it is important for banks to adopt a logic of continuous transformation and progress” said Vasilis AntoniadisSenior Partner & Managing Director, Regional Leader, Financial Institutions.

Physical and digital channels for the benefit of consumers

Besides, according to the conclusions of a recent discussion event organized by Deloitte in the context of the Delphi Economic Forum, “we are already living in a phygital reality, to which businesses and organizations are called to adapt with similar services and mode of operation. In this “new” world, physical and digital channels coexist, with consumers looking for a personalized experience, regardless of the channel through which they experience it. They want meaningful communication with companies that will lead to solutions for their needs and respond to the limited time they have”

The common conclusion was that physical and digital channels from different sectors of the economy (such as banking, insurance, retail, energy) are not competitive but complementary to offer the audience the best experience. Of course, the technology with the sophisticated ecommerce platforms allows the simultaneous service of thousands of customers across the entire product range of a brand and at the same time enables the subsequent physical communication and service to be more personalized to their needs and desires.

Coexistence of digital and physical networks in all sectors of the economy

However, the coexistence of the physical branch network with the digital networks does not only concern banks but a number of other sectors of the economy. Experts in various sectors of the economy highlighted the importance of the collaboration of digital and physical channels with the aim of offering the ideal customer service, added value, an integrated “journey” and ultimately a different, more customer-centric sales cycle. We live in a hybrid era, where both categories of channels have their own special role. This necessary combination of digital and physical channels was also addressed by the panel speakers.

Hybrid era in banking and other industries – The views

THE Andreas AthanasopoulosDeputy CEO, Group Chief Transformation Officer, Digital & Retail of Eurobank said that as a generation we grew up with the fear that everything will become digital but today we realize that there are not actually channels but ways of serving and customer journeys that act complementary.

Those who rush to close brick-and-mortar stores will soon find that it was the wrong move, he pointed out. He also referred to the need for comprehensive, authentic and not piecemeal communication with customers. Channels must be collaborative and companies must experiment, innovate and build trust, stating that Eurobank places great emphasis and energy on Customers Relations Management, while its new branch model is a versatile combination of physical and digital capabilities that offers a completely new experience for the customer.

On his part, Mr George Karakousis, Deputy CEO-Commercial of PPC, stated that PPC has been changing a lot and rapidly in recent years, to the benefit of all interested parties. “PPC is creating an overall new experience and a new relationship with customers, utilizing modern technological means for a new digital service experience, with the digital transformation progressing rapidly at all levels.” As he mentioned, PPC’s strategy includes a model change with centralized services, unified experience and new channels. “PPC in recent years has changed the experience it offers to its customers by creating a free call center with extended hours and new services, renewed phygital stores, chatbot, new site, online application, online support, as well as the new myPPC app ». He emphasized the need for continuous development of digital channels without putting physical stores on the sidelines. “Physical and digital stores must coexist with each other. The key to success is an excellent customer experience in every contact. Make it simple and easy.”

THE John Vasilakos, Vice Chairman and CEO, Kotsovolos – Dixons South East Europe, Greece, “is a multi-channel organization that offers physical and digital channels that aim to work seamlessly, regardless of how our customers choose to interact with them.” The provision of digital services was not an option that the competition led the company to as it had been active in this field for many years, however, he noted that after the pandemic many customers returned to the store. “Those who said that the future is digital and there will be no physical stores, fell out,” as he characteristically pointed out, agreeing with the assessment that physical and digital channels are interdependent.

“Digital channels now account for 25% of our turnover without, however, losing the momentum of the other channels” said the Yannis Kantoros, CEO of Interamerican, Greece. “Digital channels are more profitable while digital transformation helped a lot to change the culture of the company and to go to a hybrid model, with simultaneous cooperation with 1000 insurers” He also estimated that in a few years through AI systems we will help our clients with ways that they themselves had not realized.

THE Nikos Christodoulou, Deloitte Partner and Consulting Leader estimated that digital channels have found their place in today’s business ecosystem, add significant value to businesses and in any case complement physical channels that have their own strong role. We are now well into the phygital era, he pointed out.