The largest Czech-owned bank was founded in 2016, after GE left the financial industry. The bank was named after the Roman goddess associated with money, and it’s doing its best to prove it is worthy of the name. Perfect customer service is one of MONETA’s key priorities, with online services being used as means to achieve that perfect CX.
“We want to be seen as the digital leader of the banking industry. Our product portfolio can match that of the biggest banks on the market, but we are also capable of developing new products and services with the speed of the smallest players,” says Andrew Gerber, MONETA’s product and marketing director.
Historically, however, the bank hadn’t always been so eager to adopt new technologies and digitalize everything it could. Although MONETA’s predecessor, GE Money Bank, offered an internet banking solution, it wasn’t very popular with the customers. When MONETA took over, the company had a clear vision for their online banking mobile app – they wanted to create something that people would actually enjoy using. In 2016, they launched their Smart Banking mobile app, receiving the Banking App of the Year award just a year later. “An average user uses our Smart Bank app twenty times a month, ten times more compared to our web banking solution,” Gerber says.
Most clients use the app for everyday tasks like making payments or checking their balance or transaction history. Moreover, the mobile app’s success motivated MONETA to overhaul their web app as well, using the same platform upon which the Smart Banking app is based.
“We want to give our clients the option to perform most common operations completely online; we are already capable of opening and closing the majority of our products and services using digital means. Our goal is to eventually be able to deal with all client requests in real time, without our customers ever having to physically visit our branches.”Andrew Gerber, product and marketing director at MONETA Money bank, a.s.
In 2020, MONETA simplified its price list and removed fees for ATM withdrawals – two steps that greatly improved customer satisfaction. “Until then, it was mostly small banks without their own ATMs who offered free withdrawals,” Gerber adds. The bank applied a similar approach to promoting investment funds. “We got rid of entry fees, which are usually around 1–1.5% in other banks, setting up a significant barrier for many customers. We put together a team of 60 investment experts ready to assist our customers, and we also added investment management features into our mobile app. Currently, we manage CZK 25 billion worth of clients’ investments, with our portfolio growing by 60% every year.”
The bank also hopes that higher interest rates on checking and savings accounts, as well as family accounts that they plan to introduce in 2022, will help to improve customer satisfaction even further. “Parents can open subsidiary accounts for their children, complete with a payment card and a simplified version of our mobile banking app, setting up limits and maximum number of transactions for the account. Then it’s up to us to offer attractive interest rates and teach the children to save money,” Gerber explains. MONETA also plans to introduce business bank accounts that will work the same way, using a similar hierarchy of rights.
Just a few years ago, most banks saw fintech innovations as a threat. Much has changed since then and today, they appreciate those same innovations and see them as the driving force that helped them keep up and stay relevant within the rapidly evolving market. “Banks that are willing to adapt will benefit from these changes, while those unwilling to change their ways will see their clients turn their backs on them,” Gerber concludes.