Best Digital Banks 2017

In the first round of our Best Digital Bank Awards, evolving customer needs drive financial institutions’ technology innovation.


Best Digital Banks Keep Customers In Mind

Q&A With Digtial Award Winning Banks
Tapodyuti Bose Citi
Q&A with Citi’s Tapodyuti Bose on the bank’s global digital ambitions. 
zagunis
Q&A with SEB Lithuania’s Zagunis on the Swedish bank’s digital strategy deployment
michal kissos hertzog leumi
Q&A with Bank Leumi’s Michal Kissos-Hertzog on mobile banking, millenials and more
garvan callan
Q&A with Bank of Ireland’s Garvan Callan on its rapidly growing digital footprint
Shawn Rose Scotia Bank
Q&A with Scotiabank’s Shawn Rose on the bank’s digital efforts in Pacific Alliance countries


For the 18th consecutive year, the first round Global Finance Best Digital Bank Awards program honors banks, by country and regional sub-category, that have pushed boundaries in meeting challenges with digital solutions and providing their customers with exceptional digital experiences. (Full list of winners in tables below)

“To build a true digital bank,” says Zhiwei Jiang, global head of insights and data at Capgemini financial services, “the starting point, endpoint and digital journey need to have the customer as the main driver from both a design and building point of view.”

Methodology

Global Finance’s Best Digital Awards are based on submissions from banks for consideration for the awards as on July 31, 2017. This is the 18th year for the awards.  A panel of representatives from global consulting, tech and outsourcing firm Infosys evaluate these entries and give their recommendation to the Global Finance editorial board. The final calls are taken by the magazine’s editors.  

Winners were selected based on the strength of the digital measures implemented both within and outside the company with an aim to increase operation efficiency and online customer satisfaction. Equal importance was given to the length and breadth of their digital initiatives and innovation shown while adopting new technologies. 

Citi keeps customer experience at the forefront of its digital process, and so won big in both our corporate/institutional and consumer bank categories around the world. With a global network of innovation labs in Tel Aviv, Dublin, Singapore, San Francisco and New York City, Citi’s most recent launches include a new mobile app that combines banking, wealth management and money movement capabilities—complete with cutting-edge servicing and authentication features developed by Citi FinTech; and deployment of the CitiConnect application programming interface across 96 countries, enabling Citi’s treasury services clients to connect directly with the bank.

North American neighbor Scotiabank picked up three regional consumer banking sub-category awards and the consumer banking award in a staggering 23 countries in Latin America. By opening digital factories in Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Canada, Scotiabank hopes to support digital uptake in the region following the rollout of its new online and mobile platform across Latin America. “We are also committed to building strong partnerships with academia, technology start-ups, and innovation centers,” says Michael Zerbs, Scotiabank’s chief technology officer. Those include the Scotiabank Center for Customer Analytics at the Smith School of Business in Queens, New York, the Creative Destruction Lab in Machine Learning at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and the Scotiabank Digital Banking Lab at Western University’s Ivey School of Business in London, Ontario, where, Zerbs adds, “we can leverage great talent with real-life training in joint labs that bring together technology, data scientists and business to solve real use cases that all require strong data management as a foundation.”

DIgital Banks of Distinction 2017
digital numbers
Read how smaller banks use agility to be competitive against their larger but slower-moving rivals
adam walendziewski
ING Bank Slaski’s Adam Walendziewski talks of how the award-winning bank promotes a ‘digital first’ strategy

Standard Chartered’s ambitious technology transformation initiative in Africa and the Middle East paid off with big regional wins. By investing in smart technologies and strategic alliances with other retail businesses, including telecoms and oil retailers, the bank is continually finding new ways to match diverse banking needs across the region.

“We are delighted with the recognition given to our continued efforts and investments in transforming client experience in Africa,” says Jaydeep Gupta, regional head of retail banking for Africa and Middle East at Standard Chartered. “Delivering simple and convenient banking with a human touch for increasingly tech-savvy clients tops our digital agenda.” The bank also won three country awards for Islamic banking in Asia.

Yapi Kredi Bank picked up a number of awards in both corporate/institutional and consumer banking categories. The Turkish bank has just revamped its mobile banking application, adding three new features: password-free Eyeprint ID, MobilNakit (MobileCash), which allows contactless cash withdrawals at automated teller machines, and direct access to the bank’s call center.

Other notable first round winners in the 2017 Best Consumer Digital Banks Awards include Citi, CaixaBank and Odeabank in Western Europe; SEB, TBC, Otkritie Bank* and Sberbank in Central & Eastern Europe; Citi, Scotiabank, CIBC and HSBC in North America; DBS in Asia-Pacific; and Arab Bank, Mashreq Bank, Bank Leumi in the Middle East.

Many of these banks were winners in the Corporate/Institutional categories too: SEB and TBC in Central & Eastern Europe; Yapi Kredi Bank and Odeabank in Western Europe; Wells Fargo in North America; DBS in Asia-Pacific; Bank Leumi, National Commercial Bank and Samba in the Middle East.

Digital Bank Conference 2017 - 300x250


Bank Millennium, Best Consumer Digital Bank in Poland and Best Trade Finance in CEE, has launched a number of innovations, facilitating not only banking but also interactions with public offices and everyday activities, such as shopping or parking payments. It just proves there are many ways to keep customers happy.SEB is among those whose innovation-focused approach brought significant advances. “Starting from spring, our clients can use the remote advisory service or remotely open a banking account. We have updated our mobile app and improved our Website,” explains Ainar Leppänen, head of retail banking and technology at SEB Estonia. “To provide world-class services, we must keep up with the ever-changing needs of our customers.”

*At the end of August the central bank of Russia took control of 75% of Bank Otkritie after a strong outflow of its deposits by clients in the last few months and some downgrades by the rating agencies. 

             GLOBAL FINANCE WORLD’S BEST DIGITAL BANKS 2017 – ROUND 1 WINNERS                                                                  CORPORATE/INSTITUTIONAL BANKS

 

NORTH AMERICA BANK
   
Country Winners  
Canada Citi
United States Wells Fargo
   
Regional Sub-Category Winners  
   
Best Investment Management Services Wells Fargo
Best Online Cash Management Citi
Best Trade Finance Services Wells Fargo
Best Web Site Design Wells Fargo
Best Integrated Corporate Bank Site Wells Fargo
Best Information Security Initiatives Wells Fargo
Best Online Treasury Services Citi
Best in Mobile Banking Wells Fargo
Best in Social Media Wells Fargo 
Best Mobile Banking App Wells Fargo
Most Innovative Digital Bank Citi

 

WESTERN EUROPE BANK
   
Country Winners  
Austria Citi
Belgium Citi
Cyprus Hellenic Bank
Denmark Citi
Finland Citi
France Citi
Germany Citi
Greece Eurobank
Ireland Citi
Italy Citi
Luxembourg Citi
Netherlands Citi
Norway Citi
Portugal Citi
Spain BBVA
Sweden Citi
Switzerland Citi
Turkey Yapi Kredi Bank
United Kingdom Citi
   
Regional Sub-Category Winners
 
   
Best Investment ManagementServices Odeabank
Best Online Cash Management Citi
Best Trade Finance Services Nordea
Best Web Site Design Yapi Kredi Bank
Best Integrated Corporate Bank Site Yapi Kredi Bank
Best Information Security Initiatives Bank of Ireland
Best in Mobile Banking Citi
Best in Social Media Odeabank
Best Mobile Banking App Citi
Most Innovative Digital Bank Odeabank

 

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE BANK
   
Country Winners  
Czech Republic Citi
Estonia SEB Banka
Georgia TBC Bank
Hungary Citi
Latvia SEB Bank
Lithuania SEB Bank
Poland mBank
Romania Citi
Russia Citi
Slovakia Citi
   
Regional Sub-Category Winners
 
   
Best Online Cash Management Citi
Best Trade Finance Services Bank Millennium
Best Integrated Corporate Bank Site TBC Bank
Best In Mobile Banking Citi
Best In Social Media TBC Bank
Best Mobile Banking App TBC Bank
Most Innovative Digital Bank Citi

 

LATIN AMERICA BANK
   
Country Winners  
Argentina BBVA
Bolivia Banco de Credito BCP
Brazil Citi
Chile Banco de Chile
Colombia Citi
Costa Rica Citi
Dominican  
Republic Citi
Ecuador Citi
El Salvador Citi
Guatemala Citi
Haiti Citi
Honduras Citi
Jamaica Citi
Mexico Citibanamex
Panama Citi
Paraguay Citi
Peru Citi
Puerto Rico Citi
Uruguay Citi
   
Regional Sub-Category Winners
 
   
Best Investment ManagementServices Citibanamex
Best Online Cash Management Citi
Best Trade Finance Services Citi
Best Web Site Design Citi
Best Integrated Corporate Bank Site Citi
Best Information Security Initiatives Citi
Best Online Treasury Services Citi
Best in Mobile Banking Citi
Best in Social Media Citi
Best Mobile Banking App BBVA
Most Innovative Digital Bank Citi

 

ASIA-PACIFIC BANK
   
Country Winners  
Australia Citi
Bangladesh Citi
China ICBC
Hong Kong Citi
India Citi
Indonesia Citi
Kazakhstan Citi
Malaysia Citi
New Zealand Citi
Pakistan Citi
Philippines Citi
Singapore Citi
South Korea Citi
Sri Lanka Citi
Taiwan CTBC Bank
Thailand Citi
Vietnam Citi
   
Regional Sub-Category Winners
 
   
Best Online Cash Management Citi
Best Trade Finance Services DBS
Best Online Treasury Services Citi
Best in Mobile Banking Citi
Best In Social Media DBS
Best Mobile Banking App Citi
Most Innovative Digital Bank Citi

 

MIDDLE EAST BANK
   
Country Winners
 
Bahrain Citi
Egypt Citi
Israel Bank Leumi
Jordan Arab Bank
Kuwait Citi
Lebanon Citi
Qatar Mashreq Bank
Saudi Arabia Samba
United Arab Emirates Citi
   
Regional Sub-Category Winners  
Best Investment Management Services Bank Leumi
Best Online Cash Management National Commercial Bank
Best Trade Finance Services Samba
Best Web Site Design National Commercial Bank
Best Integrated Corporate Bank Site Samba
Best Information Security Initiatives CIB
Best in Mobile Banking Citi
Best Mobile Banking App Citi
Most Innovative Digital Bank Citi

 

AFRICA BANK
   
Country Winners  
Algeria Citi
Cameroon Citi
Cote d’Ivoire Citi
Democratic Republic of Congo Citi
Gabon Citi
Kenya Citi
Morocco Citi
Mozambique Banco Unico
Nigeria Citi
Senegal Citi
South Africa Citi
Tanzania Citi
Tunisia Citi
Uganda Citi
Zambia Citi
   
Regional Sub-Category Winners
 
   
Best Online Cash Management Citi
Best in Mobile Banking Citi
Best Mobile Banking App Citi
Most Innovative Digital Bank Citi

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