Banking

Pekao

Distribution channels

The Bank offers its customers a wide distribution network with branches and ATMs conveniently located throughout Poland. At the end of December 2017, Pekao had 851 own branches and 1,745 own ATMs.

At the end of December 2017, the Bank administered 5,669.3 thousand current accounts in PLN, 354.1 thousand mortgage loan accounts and 620.8 thousand Express Loan accounts.

Bank Pekao S.A. is one of the electronic banking leaders on the Polish market. In its electronic banking operations, the bank offers its customers a full range of solutions such as: web and mobile sites, a mobile app for phones and tablets and PeoPay mobile payments. Since mid-2017, the Bank’s customers have been able to use Pekao24, a new mobile site for mobile phone browsers, which apart from the design change, friendly navigation and intuitive operation offers features known to customers from the mobile application on tablets and internet service.

Innovations

In 2017, Bank Pekao launched a new PeoPay mobile app, a single application for banking and paying. This application had been designed together with the customers and offers all the functions they need. This is the first app in Poland that uses biometrics to confirm transactions, supports payments abroad in foreign currencies and allows users to pay for web-based shopping directly in their phones.

What makes PeoPay different is, among others, that it offers login, authorization of Internet transfers and payments all with a fingerprint, support for multiple currencies, i.e. the ability to pay abroad in a foreign currency or payments made by phone without having to give codes or log into the web banking system. 

Pekao’s innovative projects were appreciated by the jury of the Innovation of the Year 2017 competition conducted under the auspices of the Faculty of Technical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the FIRE Innovation Center Foundation. The jury awarded the prestigious title to Pekao Connect, the integration service between the PekaoBiznes24 transaction platform and the company’s financial and accounting systems.

To implement the strategy of acquiring young customers, the bank focused on expanding long-term cooperation with the largest institutions of higher learning in Poland and various educational initiatives throughout Poland. 

In Q3 2017, contracts were signed with four successive universities to issue Electronic Student IDs with a payment functions. The “Family Dream Journey” contest was also launched, supporting parents in opening accounts for children and youth at Bank Pekao S.A. In Q3 2017, the Bank opened nearly 40,000 new savings accounts: Mój Skarb, Eurokonto Kieszonkowe and Eurokonto Intro. 

Alior Bank

Distribution channels

At the end of 2017, the bank had 905 outlets (248 traditional branches, including 7 Private Banking branches, 12 Regional Business Centers and 638 partner outlets). The bank’s products were also offered in the chain of 10 Mortgage Centers, 10 cash centers and a network of roughly 10 thousand intermediaries.

Alior Bank also used distribution channels based on a modern IT platform incorporating: online banking, mobile banking, call centers and DRONN. The bank uses the Internet, including Internet banking, to enter into agreements for: savings and checking accounts, currency accounts, savings accounts, deposits, debit cards and brokerage accounts. These channels are also used to accept applications for credit products: cash loans, credit cards, overdraft limits and mortgage loans. Using the Internet, the bank also offers installment loans in an on- line process and offers services of a currency exchange office.

Alior Bank’s traditional branches are located in the largest cities throughout Poland, offering the full range of the Bank’s products and services and constituting their main distribution channel. Partner outlets on the other hand are located in smaller towns and in selected locations in Poland’s major cities, offering a broad range of services and deposit and credit products for retail and business customers. 

Cooperation between the bank and its partner outlets is based on an outsourcing agency agreement. Under these agency agreements, agents provide exclusive agency services to the Bank in respect to the distribution of products. These services are provided in locations owned or leased by agents approved by the Bank.

The bank’s products were also offered in financial intermediary chains, such as Expander, Open Finance, Sales Group, Dom Kredytowy Notus, Fines, DFQS, GTF and others. The range of products available from financial intermediaries varies depending on the partner, mainly cash loans, consolidation and mortgage loans and instalment loans. 

On 31 October 2017, the Bank terminated the cooperation agreement with the TESCO retail chain concerning the “TESCO Finance” project. As of 1 November 2017, Tesco Finance locations no longer offer Alior Bank’s product contracts and instructions for previously concluded contracts may no longer be submitted. The existing customers, will now be serviced by the chain of Alior Bank’s own branches.

Innovations

The business objective of Alior Bank is to maintain its innovation leadership position in Poland and to become among most innovative banks in Europe.

During the next four years, in addition to the previously planned expenditures for ongoing IT development and maintenance work, Alior Bank will invest the additional PLN 400 million in innovative technology projects. These expenditures will drive Alior Bank’s digital transformation, in which motivated employees will guide the individual and corporate customers to the digital world, in a safe and friendly manner, which will also be profitable for the shareholders. 

In early 2017, Alior Bank was the first bank in Poland to offer its partners mobiRATY – a mobile app to enter loan applications and sign loan agreements fully electronically. This innovative solution was recognized internationally and was awarded the main prize in the Banking Technology competition in the Best Use of IT for Lending category.

The Alior Bank’s new Innovation Management Model will support the use of modern technologies to bridge customer needs with the bank’s strategy. This will make life easier for clients while ensuring high profitability for the bank.

Alior Bank has also established the Fintech Department, a new unit responsible for seeking fintechs globally and for launching partnerships with those that are the best match with the bank’s strategy. Its goal is to launch cooperation with 20 companies by 2020 and establish the perception of the bank as the partner of first choice for European fintechs.