“By taking on the leadership of Isybank I have realized a dream: that of working in a fintech that has no limits to growth and value creation and which, thanks to the integration into the Intesa Sanpaolo group, is also a product factory that allows us to enrich constantly offering to customers". Just meet Antonio Valitutti, the young CEO of Isybank (he was born 43 years ago in Salerno and graduated in Electronic Engineering at the Polytechnic of Turin), to immediately perceive the enthusiasm and passion with which he works, in the futuristic Milanese skyscraper “Scheggia di Vetro”, on the development of the digital bank of the Intesa Sanpaolo group launched less than a year ago. A completely new bank that is growing visibly, which aims to gather one million new customers by next year and which intends to export its banking model to Europe too. Here is the interview that engineer Valitutti gave to FIRSTonline.
Engineer Valitutti, in June 2023 the Intesa Sanpaolo Group launched Isybank, of which you are the CEO, presenting it as the digital bank of the entire Group and as the bank of the future supported by 650 million investments in cutting-edge technology and with the support of 400 people: to date, what is the state of the art regarding Isybank's investments, employees and customers?
“Isybank is not just a digital bank that grows day by day but an accelerator of the digital transformation of the entire Intesa Sanpaolo Group. In this sense, over the period of the 2022-2025 Business Plan, the Group has outlined an investment program of 5 billion for technology and growth, of which 650 million will be allocated to the development of Isybank. To achieve it, 4.000 people will be employed through professional retraining and hiring, including 2.000 in the IT sector. The novelty represented in the sector is that Isybank is to all intents and purposes a new fintech operator but with the solidity and competitive advantage of having it behind it and being fully integrated into the leading Italian banking group such as Intesa Sanpaolo. Thanks to this membership, Isybank started with a broad offering of products and services, which is rapidly being enriched over time to respond to the needs and requests of our customers. Technological innovation is a key factor in the Group's success and the most important programs are represented by the new cloud technological infrastructure: IsyTech. The latter is a cutting-edge digital platform, also adopted by Isybank, which will be extended throughout the Group, and thanks to which it will be possible to offer families and businesses services in a fintech-like manner, guided by a logic of simplification and efficiency".
The mission is clear but what are the concrete results of the first months of Isybank?
“To date we have 350 thousand customers, of which 80 thousand acquired directly on the market, and every day 500 new customers choose us, around 15 thousand per month. By March there will be the transfer of Intesa Sanpaolo customers, who we asked at the beginning of the year to choose whether or not to transfer the relationship to us on more advantageous conditions, in terms of costs, than their original position. In fact, 75% of migrated customers have a free monthly fee. Our customers currently operate our app, with a very high satisfaction rate and this is a fundamental result for us to continue investing in our offer and achieve important objectives, including acquiring one million new customers by 2025".
It's true: the first results are visible but there are two objections to his reasoning. The first concerns the investigation launched by the Antitrust with reference to the methods of communication sent to customers involved in the transition to Isybank. The second objection is that you are still very far from acquiring Intesa Sanpaolo's 4 million already digitalized customers.
“We have the utmost respect for the Authority and we immediately made ourselves available to collaborate in examining and resolving the issues raised, in the best interests of customers. In compliance, and also thanks to constant listening to our customers, on January 10th we sent a new individual communication which illustrates the advantages of Isybank in even greater detail and asks for explicit consent to the switch. We have also introduced a clearly visible banner in our app to support the proposal. Compared to the total number of customers involved in the transfer, only a few thousand made a complaint, but for us the voice of each customer is important and for this reason we listened to their needs and responded promptly".
Then there is the second objection: you are still very far from the objectives set out in the Intesa Sanpaolo Plan with reference to already digital customers. Or not?
“We are fully aware that we are only at the beginning of a story that has all the makings of being a success story. In addition to the overall size of our customers and the goal of acquiring one million by 2025, there are already three metrics that encourage us and are a reality today. The first is that 82% of our customers are monthly active, that is, they operate on Isybank at least once a month compared to an average of 50% of other fintechs. The second news is that already today 100 thousand of our customers' salaries are credited to the Isybank account. Finally, in just a few months we have already collected 200 thousand user debits. These are not trivial numbers but quantities that reveal how Isybank is today considered the bank of reference by a growing clientele. We intend to offer our customers the highest technological and service standards and this is a reality that is recognized by their choices. For us it is an objective achieved which stimulates us to continue to do better, thanks to continuous listening".
Initially, Isybank was conceived as the bank for those who never go to the bank and as a bank especially for young people who are notoriously more digitalised: is your target always this or do you plan to also attract older but wealthier segments of customers?
“We are the bank for those who need to operate with maximum simplicity, speed, convenience, independently and taking advantage of digital channels, primarily their smartphone. Young people under 35 are certainly our main point of reference but not the only one. Day by day we see an increase in the membership of customers over 40 and over 50 who have already become familiar with digital or who we help to acquire and who are interested, in addition to the operations linked to the account, also in the investment and insurance policies that we are about to launch."
Are you saying that after the offers on the account dedicated to under 35s and the mortgages for young people and on personal loans, you are preparing to launch new products that concern all customers and not just young people? In what sense?
“Without prejudice that Isybank today represents the Group's offer for the under 35 group, and also the best proposal on the market thanks to the promotion which eliminates the isyPrime fee, I confirm that yes, thanks to the group's internal expertise, we are about to launch new insurance and financial products and the credit card. Furthermore, since the beginning of March Isybank has also been accessible from PCs and tablets. What drives our digital and innovative banking strategy is to be comprehensive but not complex.”
One of the innovations presented at the launch of Isybank was the combination of the possibility for customers to use the most advanced digital technologies but also the human touch, the assistance and consultancy of people with whom they can easily communicate. How is the “Talk to us” service going? And what level is customer satisfaction?
“Our Human touch is concrete, represented by around 3.000 Digital Branch managers who assist customers with extended hours and even on weekends. Everything is working very well and we are working to offer real teams of dedicated managers to support and give increasingly targeted advice to customers. A number is worth more than words: according to the latest surveys, the customer satisfaction of our customers is 80%. Eighty out of 100 customers are fully satisfied with our services."
Looking ahead, will Isybank replace Intesa Sanpaolo's current retail business or will it join the traditional commercial bank?
“We are very clear about our role which is to represent the Group's fully digital bank to serve customers who are already digital or who prefer this channel to operate. The Group thus provides a new response to the constantly evolving needs of customers, alongside traditional operations through physical branches. The objective is to best serve customers in an omnichannel service model logic, with maximum synergies. If you consider that in Italy there are already 20 million people who use digital banking, you understand how great the opportunities the market offers are. For those who still prefer to go to the branch to carry out digital but more complex operations, we also provide in-person support from a manager in the use of advanced technologies and ATMs for so-called self (do-it-yourself) operations.
So far we have talked about strategies and service innovation in the digital transformation of the Intesa Sanpaolo group but it would also be interesting to know the Isybank accounts: when will you present your first financial statements? Are you still in the implementation phase or are you already at break even?
“I cannot anticipate numbers because we will present our first balance sheet to the shareholders' meeting by March. Our goal is to create value with a cost/income business model of less than 30%."
Engineer Valitutti, as we know, Isybank is based on native cloud technology and has found its ideal technological partner in Thought Machine right from the start: are you satisfied with this alliance and do you foresee other partners in the growth of your digital bank?
“We are very satisfied with the partnership with Thought Machine, a core business technology company based in the United Kingdom, which offers a latest generation digital platform and which has allowed us to achieve all the technological objectives set. Which does not exclude other vertical alliances, some already in place and others that will be added. In the cloud, integration with Google, for example, is already a reality. Furthermore, we benefit from the investments in technology of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, within the IsyTech programme”.
To conclude: will you continue to grow organically or are you also thinking about extraordinary M&A operations?
“For now we still consider ourselves in the startup phase. We aim to grow organically but also to become an exportable model in Europe, where Intesa Sanpaolo already has a significant presence. Our horizon and our new challenge cannot fail to be international."
