Digitization of business clients

We need to stop thinking of digitization as a revolution. It has already become rooted in our everyday lives, both professional and private. In fact, virtually all businesses already undergone, or are in the process of digital transformation, constantly searching better ways and solutions to make life easier for all of us.

An average entrepreneur has to spend 74% of their time on dealing with business affairs, leaving only about 26% for business development. Of these 74%, only 9% relates to banking, while as much as 16% is dedicated to accounting. Big corporations have whole departments dedicated to these matters, while smaller businesses have to deal with it on their own. Even if we apply the term “smaller businesses” to not only these under a hundred employees, but also to those with hundreds of workforce, it still generates ongoing cost, employing increasingly more people and resources with each process.

All in one place

The many conveniences made possible by modern tech have not escaped the entrepreneurs.

According to the EY report, as much as 68% of business owners favors managing as much as they can via digital channels. 53% of the SME declares that it’s vital for the banks and other financial institutions to provide for platform that is both intuitive and easy to use. Even more (56%) expresses the need for a platform through which they could access not only financial products, but all the other kinds of business services as well, as this would allow for better support in their current state of business. Almost one in four in the SME sector (22%) would like to see such an integrated platform as part of their banking system, with 17% willing to pay extra money for the service.

Banks are acknowledging their clients’ needs

All of the above data is from the last year. It’s safe to say that the trend probably grew during this time. This hasn’t gone unnoticed by the industry — 71% of the banks state that they “have a clear strategy to engage in the open ecosystem,” in the form of a platform open to integrate with third-party software solutions, to form an open digital ecosystem.

The idea of building such platform and gathering all of their clients’ processes brings an extra advantage to the banks — it reinforces customer loyalty. The banks taking part in a survey by Celent are openly talking about the growing hardships with customer acquisition. 68% of them are saying that it’s far more difficult to retain customers than it was a year before.

A kind of platform targeted at business clients, featuring not only banking products, but also capable of integrating with, e.g., insurance and leasing systems, seems to be an ideal solution. This way, the field of possibilities becomes virtually endless, and that’s a good news for both the clients and the banks. The battle for attracting new customers is becoming a competition between functionalities. And new functionalities give banks new sources of customer data, which in turn can completely change the industry, giving banks entirely new business opportunities.

Comarch is aware of these mechanisms and is reaching out to banks with Comarch Open Platform — a platform for SME and corporate banking, based on buy-and-build model. This allows for a full platform customization to banks’ needs, while remaining open to new solutions and new functionalities desired by customers at the same time.

Author: Anna Macherzyńska - Product Marketing Manager at Comarch

Sources:

• The five-step journey to SME banking transformation
• Technology priorities in corporate banking. Accelerating Away from the Pandemic, Celent, June 2022