A bank just a click away. This is what Intesa Sanpaolo wants to become and is becoming, the leading Italian bank by number of customers and which in three-year plan presented almost a year ago, it envisaged 2,8 billion euro of investments for digitization alone, which however, as Stefano Barrese, head of Banca dei Territori, is keen to point out, illustrating the state of the art of Intesa's digital universe in Milan, services will change more and more and for the better, but people – customers and employees – will remain at the centre, in a relationship model facilitated by technology but increasingly based on quality and trust”. It should therefore not be frightening that, today, Intesa Sanpaolo is already the leading Italian bank also on the Fintech front: 8 million multi-channel customers, 3 million app users who access it on average 18 times a month each (56 million total on mobile only), 56 million transactions made on apps since the beginning of the year, of which 1,2 million have already been cardless withdrawals.
Numbers that seem to clash with the proverbial lack of inclination of Italians to use technology, especially in the older segments of the population. This attitude, however, is denied, particularly as regards bank customers, by a survey by Ipsos according to which 96% of Italians now own a smartphone, 75% connect to the internet from mobile on a monthly basis, but above all 54% of respondents have downloaded their bank's app and 51%, therefore over half, have an app for digital payments. “But even customers who use apps and online services – explains Barrese – maintain the habit of visiting the branch, which remains the point of reference for more complex operations and for requests for clarification. Which can also take place via telephone, but always in discussions with natural persons".
The branches therefore do not disappear but change their face: they become meeting places, even for events (such as today's press conference, held in the Piazza Cordusio branch), such as those dedicated to food or music (Intesa is the main sponsor of X Factor and recently in the branch in Piazza Diaz, in Milan, the contestants of the talent show performed), e 85% of paper was eliminated in branch transactions, and 98% of contracts also disappeared. Testifying to the commitment to maintaining a physical presence and indeed making it even more widespread, is the operation with the network of tobacconists, which has become Banca5, the so-called proximity bank of the group, with over 20.000 tobacconists affiliated throughout the national territory , where Intesa customers can make from this summer and free withdrawals up to a value of 150 euros.
And then of course there are digital payments, on which Intesa intends to accelerate. Already compatible with the Samsung Pay system, Apple Pay has also been available since 20 November for customers with iOS devices (there are over one million), which can be activated directly via the XME Pay service on all credit cards, prepaid cards and XME Card debit. “In a few days – revealed Massimo Tessitore, Head of the Integrated Multi-channel Department – we have already 'virtualized' 70.000 cards. If we also make an agreement with Google Pay, which arrived in Italy in September? In the future yes, meanwhile, however, proposed PAyGO, the service of our app dedicated to contactless payment with smartphone. Through PAyGO, payments of less than 25 euros can also be made in safety, via fingerprint recognition”.
Intesa Sanpaolo's digital universe also sees a link with the city of Milan, through the agreement with Atm, of which the bank is a technological partner, to enable the entrance to the subway simply by approaching the turnstiles any contactless or virtualized Visa or Mastercard on your smartphone. The service was launched last summer. The latest news is the new app dedicated to financial investments: it's called Investo and it allows you to trade directly from mobile and keep assets under control in an agile and safe way, from anywhere. The app also allows you to monitor stocks on the Stock Exchange: less than a month after its release, 20% of Intesa customers' orders on the secondary market have already passed through Investo.
