Asseco has been an innovative partner to banks for 30 years
In the future, banking will no longer be seen as a financial transaction but as a value-added service. This is how Martin Chripko, Director of the Banking Business Unit at Asseco CE, sees the future of banking.
We work with our customers to create unique, modern, and tailor-made solutions – in this respect, each bank is unique.
In recent years, digital banking has experienced a significant growth and services such as online card payments or mobile payments are now a common part of people's lives in Slovakia. All this is possible thanks to the internet and smartphones – but who develops and implements these services?
Three decades of innovation
Banks are not technology companies and the initial transition from "branch" banking to digital banking has already shown the need for the help of external IT companies. In Slovakia, ASSET Soft (today's Asseco) was one of the companies involved in this transformation back in the 1990s. "We have successfully passed through the era of digitalization with our customers, we helped with the transition to the euro, building card systems and the beginnings of Internet banking," Chripko recalls.
Today, the 220 Asseco CE employees mainly work on contactless mobile or smart watch payments, but primarily cover almost all the bank's needs from the core systems through the security servers to the Asseco Omnichannel Platform in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Asia. This platform provides a managed unified user experience across all communication channels. This means that the client can create their application on their mobile device and then continue at home via Internet Banking, working with the exact same information all the time.
Trends from different parts of the world
Technology is advancing by leaps and bounds and banks need to offer attractive services if they want to retain clients and attract new ones. “We work with our customers to create unique, modern, and tailor-made solutions – in this respect, each bank is unique. We spend a lot of time on innovation, which is why we created the Innovation Hub, which seeks out exceptional solutions and people. The incubator then examines their applicability and viability," says Chripko, adding that this is an activity involving the entire Asseco Group, which means they have access to the freshest ideas from different parts of the world.
Digital banking of the future
What direction will digital banking take? "It will definitely focus on simplifying communication and the use of assisted services and motivating clients to use services in the form of added value. If you are looking for a new bike, the bank will offer you a good loan to go with it, as well as insurance or a discount coupon to buy other products," says Chripko.
However, according to him, the relationship between the client and the institution will undergo a fundamental change. "Our vision of the future is limited by the present; the unimaginable will become reality. Our finances will only be taken care of by virtual assistants who will accurately assess our needs, leveraging artificial intelligence. But in return, we will expect security, benefits, and the best service possible – because in the future, switching banks can be a matter of a single click," Chripko concludes his vision.
Forbes Life Special, December 2020,
Martin Chripko, Director of Banking Business Unit, Asseco Central Europe