Digital Transformation in Banking

    MINSK, BELARUS, June 10, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The banking sphere, like many others, experienced somewhat of a shock due to the recent lockdown. It would seem that most people have long been using remote solutions (mobile and web banking). However, it was found that many clients still continue visiting bank branches, and banking systems are not ready for the remote servicing of all clients simultaneously.

There are exceptions, of course. A separate category of banks, which had thought about digitalization a few years ago, not only coped with the situation but also managed to significantly get ahead of competitors trying to urgently establish working processes in the new conditions.

The main problem of the majority of large but too traditionally-minded banks was their slowness and commitment to legacy. When there was a need to adapt the systems that had been introduced half a century ago, it turned out that the market was short of the necessary specialists - almost all of them were already retired. But even if we abstract our minds from the lockdown and just look at the operation of old systems more closely, other problems become apparent.

Legacy-systems can no longer be scaled, cope poorly with the integration of new services, and are slow in processing a lot of information. In this situation, there is only one way out - the transition to new, modern architectural solutions. Or a slow death - but hardly anyone will agree to this voluntarily.

There are two options for moving from legacy to modern solutions: a sharp one and a smooth one. The sharp transition requires enormous investments right at the initial stages but gives the opportunity to switch to a new system rapidly. The smooth transition involves the operation of microservices or SOA in parallel with legacy elements - this is possible and in some cases even optimal, but the transition will stretch over time.

In order to choose a strategy for the transition to digitalization, and then correctly implement it, you will need a team of qualified specialists. For Andersen, FinTech is one of the key industries. Our experts developed technological solutions for Tinkoff, BNP Paribas, and Sberbank. Denis Ostapchenya, the Head of Andersen's FinTech division, in his research article analyzed the company's practical experience and identified key aspects that bank managers of any size and level of technological development should pay attention to.

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