A TECHNOLOGY FOCUSED INSTITUTION
FINTECH “ Customers are used to using Instagram and Facebook – they ’ re used to instantaneous responses , so we need to be able to provide that . Our goal is to give a seamless , transparent journey to our customers ”
— Andy Pearson , Managing Director , Santander UK Technology
“ They ’ re on a very similar journey to us , and were keen to discuss some cultural and principle things Santander is doing that they can learn from . As a whole , the banking industry is really taking these technologies on ,” he adds .
A TECHNOLOGY FOCUSED INSTITUTION
Santander is taking these industry changes in its stride , all the while focusing on the most important aspect : customer experience . As Pearson explains : “ Technology is fundamental to banking and fundamental to what we do here . Our aspiration is to be the best open digital bank so we need to stay abreast of the latest developments and adapt to new ways of working , and be responsive to what the market and the customer needs .”
Pearson cites two key elements of technology transformation : “ One is how we interact with our customers – and the changes in the way we ’ re building applications for mobile … we ’ re looking to digitise the way we interact with our customers .” However , the second element comes from within : “ We also need the right data at the back end , and to explore that data to make sure those interactions are as meaningful and insightful for our customers as they can be .
“ Data is fundamental to both of these things , and as we move forward increasing our understanding of data through AI and machine learning is key ,” he adds . “ Customers are used to using Instagram and Facebook – they ’ re used to instantaneous responses , so we need to be able to provide that . Our goal is to give a seamless , transparent journey to our customers .”
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