Finance Managing Advantages In New Fintech Spaces

The banking sector is going through a moment of digital transformation that affects, among other things, physical spaces.

In addition to this, traditional banks began to compete with Fintech companies, which are dedicated to offering digital services for financial management.

As part of this phenomenon, neobanks have also appeared, 100% digital banks that service through their mobile platforms and apps without the need for offices.

According to the Bank of Spain, during the first three quarters of 2018, an average of three offices a day, we're closed, but while it is true that banks have reduced their physical presence, the headquarters will not disappear, at least not for now.

When branches are closed in small cities, more original ones are opened, differentiated, located in strategic points, and equipped with the best technology and personnel to place customers in the center.

The approach is directed towards omnichannel and contact with customers through digital and physical channels.

Thus, to continue attracting customers to branches, physical bank headquarters are transformed, becoming smart offices and social meeting points where customers no longer only go to manage their banking products, but also.

They also use these spaces to work, have work meetings, and even enjoy coffee.

The physical space is still essential for the customer experience strategy, and, in this sense, it is necessary to enrich the area with services that align with current lifestyles and that adapt to each profile.

Banks use branches as a modernisation channel, and The Valley explains it, in their report " The Future of Bank Branches: the branch as an agora ."

Large entities are also digitizing their services, offering, for example, the possibility of chatting with a 24/7 chat bot to solve sophisticated issues.

Also, the option of opening an account with a selfie is now a reality, thanks to software that, employing facial recognition techniques, contrasts the information in the photo with that of the official identity document.

ATMs become smarter and become interactive connection points. Customers can operate without a card by identifying themselves through facial recognition, offering a better service experience that responds to the need to safeguard the security and protect banking entities from fraud.

There are also self-service banking kiosks in which bio-metric identification is carried out using veins. However, none of these authentication solutions is 100% free of hazards and risks.

Banking offices that become community meeting points with cafeteria or coworkers, where knowledge and the creation of ecosystems are at the center.

Diego Fernández Ortiz, head of Santander SmartBank & WorkSafe comments on the success of WorkSafe Santander:

“ The key to these new spaces is to achieve an essential balance between the bank, which offers financial services with added value; co-working,

which responds to the needs of customers for free to use the space and fidelity with the bank; and finally, the cafeteria,

which is still a social additive that generates a relaxed moment to break with the dynamic manager-client and foster a closer relationship. ”