ABN AMRO Financial Journal
Over 2,000 new users every day for ABN AMRO’s digital checkbook
ABN AMRO customers can use the Financial Journal, the bank’s digital checkbook. The Financial Journal is an online service that checks daily earnings and expenses within the secure confines of Internet Banking, and presents them in a digital summary. It has been a challenge for ABN AMRO to construct a new infrastructure and implement the business logic of Figlo’s online checkbook within the existing settings of its Internet Banking.
Business Needs
The need for a digital checkbook came from many sources. First and foremost, there is the customer who wishes to have both a better insight into and overview of his or her financial situation. Then there is the rising demand from marketing departments to create a platform within Internet Banking that enables ABN AMRO to have closer ties to its customers, in order to gain more insight into their needs and demands. ABN AMRO offers extensive support in the field of Internet Banking, yet the average visit on the website remains rather short. This further stimulates the wish to create an online environment where customers are happy to spend more time to arrange their financial affairs.
One of ABN AMRO’s strategic goals is to offer a broad platform that meets all financial needs and demands when it comes to financial planning. The digital checkbook more than meets that goal.
Challenge
Implementing the new infrastructure was one of the bigger challenges of the project. For instance, employees of ABN AMRO were not used to working with Microsoft products, which meant convincing IT managers and program managers took some persuading. In the end, they too saw the many benefits of the new financial infrastructure.
During the project, Figlo was very clear on what was, and what wasn’t possible. Clear communication was key to that process. I had rather high expectations for this particular project and the fact Figlo met every single one of them was especially great. It’s nice to consult with one another when you never have to wait long for the other party to respond.
Solution
Since the digital checkbook is quite a specific product, ABN AMRO had to find the adequate knowledge and expertise in another, external party. Implementing the new infrastructure is much more than just deploying a new tool; it’s a long-range plan that requires many a strategic choice. Figlo is closely connected to the financial market and shares ABN AMRO’s vision to offer a broad platform that links various different products. Figlo and the Figlo Platform offer just that, by linking the checkbook with both financial advice and planning.
The Microsoft platform is cost-reducing and offers the possibility to fully integrate other packages within the environment of Internet Banking. That is the biggest asset and indeed the largest gain of the project: the fact ABN AMRO is able to use the business logic of Figlo’s digital checkbook, an infrastructure entirely new to the bank, and fully integrate its applications into Internet Banking.
From the initial steps of the project to the online release, it has taken nine months for the Financial Journal to go live. The bulk of the work is in the preliminary phase, when internal support was needed and employees needed convincing with respect to the prowess and – ultimately – benefits of the Microsoft products. In many ways, it is good to invest the necessary amount of time, which makes the project an interesting case for other business units as well.
Company goals and benefits
Customer satisfaction is one of the goals of ABN AMRO’s, and an important one at that. Gaining insight into the customer and his or her spending or overall financial situation is another one. That insight is acquired by implementing a budget or a savings target, and by loading data from third party banks. Which is especially interesting, because it ultimately offers a broad overview of the customer’s financial behavior, which enables you to more aptly serve his or her needs, and allows you to help them set and reach their financial goals. By offering products and services that are tailor-made based on all available information, we create added value for our customers.
Results
Within six weeks, 80,000 users had applied for the new financial application that was offered them. Every day, about 2,000 more follow their lead. The goal is to reach 700,000 users within the next three years - a goal that is easily within our reach according to these initial numbers. Customer response has also been very positive, both with respect to the insights gained in earnings and expenses on account of the Financial Journal, and with regard to the application of graphs and user interface.
About ABN AMRO
ABN AMRO is an international presence in 27 countries. It is an ambitious organization, constantly on the move. In order to maintain company character, our unit is embedded into the following core values: Trusted, Professional and Ambitious. ABN AMRO strives to obtain as well as maintain long-term relations, by creating value for its customers by offering tailor-made products and services. Cooperating with and learning from others are high priorities - by pushing boundaries and crossing new frontiers, ABN AMRO is driven to go the extra mile for its customers.
Related links
Read more about the case study:
Microsoft Case Study
