Andorran Banking discloses the challenges and opportunities of the sector’s digital transformation. In the last 5 years, digital customers have increased by 46%, and those using mobile applications by 375%. The aim of the digital process is to adapt to the customer’s change of habits and to face the appearance of new competitors

Andorran Banking, through its new platform Andorran Banking Observatory, has published a report which contains the principal indicators of the digital transformation being carried out by the Andorran Banking sector. The aim of this report, which reviews the evolution of this process, the reasons behind it and the challenges and opportunities it entails, is to bring to light the commitment of the five Andorran banks towards this transformation, which they view as necessary and inevitable to face the future.

In words of Esther Puigcercós “the new Andorran Banking Observatory will provide information on the banking entities’ general trends, especially in Andorra, with the publication of regular reports on different relevant topics. We want to make known what the Andorran Banking sector is up to and be more transparent with respect to our activities”.

The digital transformation process means that digital technology is being applied to all the areas of the company, from the internal structure of the bank to its processes, products and the relationship with its customers. The process therefore is not just related to technology but also to people, and therefore implies a change of mentality both from the employees as well as from the clients.

The report reveals that in the last five years, the Andorran banking sector has invested over 121.3 million euros in digital projects, mainly to change the technological architecture of the company itself, advance in the digitalization of its communication channels, make e-banking evolve to be able to offer as many online services as possible, and to improve a strong customer authentication.

This investment has taken place in parallel with the increase of the five banks’ digital customers, which have risen by 45.7% since 2014. One of the other figures revealed by Andorran Banking with respect to digital banking is the spectacular increase of clients using mobile applications, having increased by 375%. Amongst all the different internet transactions, the ones that have grown the most in the last five years are money transfer transactions and securities transactions.

The report puts the digital transformation process initiated by the banks into context and provides some in-depth information with respect to the motivations behind it, mainly ridden by the eagerness to adapt to the customers’ change of habits as well as to the new challenges and the appearance of new competitors. In this respect, the report runs through the main players in this new worldwide financial setting: the financial technological companies, the fintechs; the big American companies known as GAFA (Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple); the Asian emerging companies, the neobanks or the challenger banks.

This publication also goes into explaining one of the challenges associated with digital transformation, security; as well as those opportunities from which the Andorran players can benefit due to the fact of being located in a small size country, such as the collaborative competition agreements.

Lastly, the publication explains the strategies that are being followed by the banking entities to overcome the new challenges, and the head start they have had as traditional banks, especially in terms of professional experience in all areas of the business and the knowledge they have of their clients.

To download the report, click on the image: