Online banking makeover a new dimension of digitization

The online banking ecosystem makeover is a new dimension of digitizing relations with business customers, and a big step into the future – points out Maciej Glapa, Managing Director of Cash Management Division at the BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A., in an expert commentary for ISBtech.

Following the successive enhancements of online banking services for retail customers, BNP Paribas is modernizing its flagship online banking system for business customers.

In December 2020, these customers were granted access to the first four modules of the new GOonline Biznes system. The new features can be used by micro-entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized companies, as well as domestic and foreign corporations.

The rapid digital revolution in the financial sector is happening right before our eyes, and as a bank we are not only a beneficiary of this revolution but also set the pace for it. It’s now being manifested in the modernization of the online banking ecosystem for business customers. One of the elements of this digital ecosystem is GOonline Biznes online banking. Other elements include GOmobile Biznes (a mobile application launched in a new version) and GOconnect Biznes – a direct connection between the customer financial and accounting system (ERP) and the bank's servers – a host-to-host solution based on webservices.

This is a unique project, both in terms of the scale of changes, the implementation model and our objectives. We want to offer our customers the best online banking system in Poland, which will not only be a comprehensive portal with a huge number of features, but also excel in terms of user-friendliness. It will be secure, fast and good-looking.

To start with, we have introduced the first four modules of the new GOonline Biznes system.  Access to the new modules will be granted to all users who have an active service and the proper authorizations. Within the new GOonline Business modules are:

• Credits – clearer access and easy handling of existing credits
• Mass Collect – intuitive management of mass payments received
• Order handling – independent application submission and contract signing
• Applications and instructions – preview of submitted applications and instructions

The login method, authorization methods, scope of privileges and approval workflows remain unchanged. The new navigation will allow the customer to switch between new and current modules, or to extend the system use time with a special button. The customer will also be able to view reports of incoming mass payments, search them by dates, payer data, amounts or virtual accounts and generate report summaries.

We have also enabled the customer to independently apply for bank products and services, such as bank accounts, credit monitoring, cash services (including ordering as well as cancelling cash in transit), use the White List service, authorize persons to use the Customer Service or change the customer registration data.

What is crucial and worth emphasizing is that GOonline Business was developed together with the customers. Regular meetings with users and collecting opinions and comments was a key element of the system development. It is worth emphasizing that from the very beginning we have been thinking about GOonline Business not only in terms of today's customer experience but also in terms of future one. Therefore, the system was designed to facilitate dynamic development and adaptation of new solutions.

The migration to cloud solutions will be easy and fast. Architecture based on microservices will perfectly accelerate and facilitate further improvements, and integration with GOmobile Business and GOconnect Business makes it a fully "omnichannel" solution. All elements of the ecosystem communicate with each other to make our customers' work easier.

Like the GOonline system for individual customers, online banking for businesses will be constantly updated and adapted to current trends and changing user needs. Regardless of developing purely functional solutions, visuals and customer experience were very important. GOonline Business is simple to navigate and offers a view that makes it easy to monitor company finances.

Thanks to its simplicity and intuitive layout of features, the system is convenient to use and even allows for the independent use of advanced options. Technologies that maximize customer security are also a key element of the system. BNP Paribas plans to add more GOonline Biznes modules in 2021. Creating the digital ecosystem, the bank cooperates with Comarch.

We have been working with BNP Paribas for more than a dozen years and we understand each other well. Our common ambition is digital transformation to reduce time-to-market for new banking products and data migration to cloud environments to improve scalability, availability and security of BNP Paribas solutions, says Andrzej Przewięźlikowski, Vice President of the Management Board at Comarch.