Andres Arango
Alexander Pinilla
EGADE Business School Tecnologico de Monterrey
Consuelo Garcia-de-la-torre
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For over five years in Bancolombia Group, a transformation has been taking place towards a more human banking, building long-term relationships between clients, employees, shareholders and the general community.
NEQUI, a new model of banking business, in fact more than a bank.
NEQUI is an open platform for third parties to interact with it and with the general purpose of reaching 10 million Colombian unbanked, with a simple and efficient model and language, without going to the bank or even to open the account, allowing to convert daily activities into banking-prone activities.
Nequi is not only the way by which you can get closer to people, but it is a new bank, 100% digital, from the opening of the account that is virtual and does not require going to a physical branch, nor sending physical documents, or sign paper forms, but the account opening is done from the cell phone in the person's comfort, through (facial) biometric technology, voice and fingerprint to ensure security and as a lever for transactionality, with the possibility of using ATMs without the need for a debit card, in addition to the new business model in which customers are not charged for services that are traditionally charged by the bank.
This innovation hits by a “domino effect” various of the Sustainable Development Goals. The suggested impact order Is #8 Good Jobs & economic growth, #10 Reduce inequalities, #1 No poverty and #2 No hunger. The big message here is “the better way to solve root problems is to innovate on soft matters that help the helpers”.
For over five years in Bancolombia Group, a transformation has been taking place towards a more human banking, building long-term relationships between clients, employees, shareholders and the general community. This slogan came to the group from the hand of its former president, Dr Carlos Raul Yepes. And it was precisely the beginning of the democratization of banking with concrete actions such as: a) Eliminate the cost of transactions in electronic ATMs of the network and transactions through electronic means b) Zero cost for credit studies c) Zero cost for failed transactions in other network ATMs. 3.4 Million people (60% of their clients) benefited from this first attempt with concrete actions towards their slogan.
His message was a shock to the Colombian financial sector: "It is not easy to change the dynamics of a sector that traditionally did not speak about humanization. I dream that in a few years the headlines will not be focused on the profits of the banks, in which the government calls for lower costs for their services, for not talking about regulation. I would like to see a focus on the stories of how we have realized the dreams of thousands of people, that we give opportunities for growth, that we give hope to a country, that we have seen small businesses grow, not to talk about recovering assets but to conquer customers, talk about a more human banking[1]”
[1]Fuente: http://www.finanzaspersonales.com.co/ultimas-noticias/articulo/grupo-bancolombia-apuesta-banca-mas-humana/43686
Currently Bancolombia has 6 Million local clients, based on 75% of the banking population, reporting annual profits of US $9.69 Billion and 50,000 Nequi users (all potential ahead). If the penetration rate is maintained, over the remaining 25% of the population, the customer base could increase by around 2 Million (Bancolombia has a market penetration rate of 16.3%), generating new resources, stable with low operating costs by the model, and allowing the formal economy to generate a greater volume of transactions.
The main benefit for the bank is to attract public resources, to stimulate the formal economy by allowing customers to use NEQUI in establishments of commerce, transportation, electronic money circulation and generation of new customers without incurring in expanding its network of physical branches, managing physical documents, cash handling and administrative procedures that generate high operating costs for banks.
Social benefits are based on the possibility of inclusion of people who are far from the traditional banking sector, either by location, distance from remote areas, or by the time and monetary costs of having a relationship with a traditional bank. Under the new banking model of NEQUI, people can start their relationship with the bank by opening an account whose process is done 100% from the cell with the security controls it offers, with the versatility of using the application to manage the money for both savings and day-to-day management with the application of various ways such as paying in a cafeteria, paying for public transport, recharging your cell phone, saving, separating money for different purposes, using the ATM network without having Debit card, all of the above without incurring any cost, because the model NEQUI does not charge for any service, this allows the inclusion, formalization of economic activities of the people, offers security and better management of your money at all times.
The platform was launched for the first time in 2015 in pilot mode in a university of Colombia, later in June of 2016 was launched in productive mode in Colombia with more of 200,000 downloads and 50,000 active users, recently the application has been escalated to Panama under the same business model and with the same name NEQUI, which strengthens the inclusion not only of Bancolombia in Colombia but now we can see the usability in Panama under the umbrella of Banistmo.
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