Recently, our Head of International Sales, Mark Aldred, sat down with one of the most influential people in banking, Jim Marous, to guest on his hugely popular podcast, Banking Transformed.

The discussion centred around how banks and credit unions are rethinking their distributionstrategies as COVID-19 has led to more people than ever using digital channels. Despite this shift, while closing all branches is not the best alternative, neither is keeping them all open.

So what should they be doing to increase profit and value to customers?

The state of play in 2021

Many branches are still closed or run on a modified basis as we continue to fight the impact of COVID 19 - but this is a continuation of an established trend and many banks have predicted drastic change to be a permanent state of affairs.
Mark and Jim chat about the impact and how organisations have pivoted to serve those consumers who previously relied on physical banking.

Alternative models: the lean bank branch

Forward-thinking banks are adopting self-service banking that is complemented with video conference for one-to-one personalised advice in a lean branch format, allowing them to extend their services and efficiency, yet reduce operating costs.

The podcast delves into how banks can do this, plus potential challenges and advice to overcome them.

Turning transformation into an actionable plan

The digital transformation of bank branches and retail banking overall is being held back largely by the persistence of old technologies, unimaginative strategies on retail banking and other restrictions.

We discuss actions decision makers can take to work towards greater customer experience across every channel.

How does open-banking open up possibilities?

Banks may have seen open-banking as a potential threat, yet it actually creates huge opportunity. A physical branch can become a hub shared among multiple financial service providers or other organisations such as cafés or office spaces - increasing footfall and dwell time, generating more revenue.

Mark explains the benefits of partnering with others to solve common goals.

What’s the first step to rethink my distribution strategy?

Mark offers top tips to open up a legacy strategy and infrastructure into new possibilities and opportunities for revenue, and future-gazes on what is around the corner for the industry.

You can find out in the video below.