Digital is not just a new communication channel, but a new language with which to rethink the economy, society and people's lives. And the 'digital life' is a reality that today requires continuous change and innovation: an unavoidable path which, however, is still struggling to take off in Italy. To better investigate the issues related to the digitization of activities and explore possible synergies and partnerships with its private and public interlocutors, UniCredit dedicated the Forum dei Territori 2016 in Central Italy to the theme "Digitalization to grow, compete and improve the quality of life" .
The Forum was an opportunity for proactive discussions between management and qualified protagonists of the economic life of the area on the subjects of company productivity, e-commerce, interaction with the PA, tourism and skill training, areas in which the The Group has created specific products and solutions in the belief that digital is synonymous with efficiency, transparency and growth. But above all that it is the door to the future of the country.
The event was held in Rome in Palazzo De Carolis, headquarters of the institute and was opened by Enrico Giovannini, Full Professor of Economic Statistics at the University of Tor Vergata and President of the Central Territorial Council of UniCredit and Giovanni Forestiero, Head of Central Italy of UniCredit. The work then continued on five different thematic tables in which managers, entrepreneurs and local stakeholders took part. Specifically, there was talk of 'Digitization and business productivity'; 'Retail in the digital age'; 'PADigital'; 'Digital Travellers'; 'Accompanying the country on digital'.
The day ended with a moment of summary of what was discussed in the various tables with Gabriele Piccini and Enrico Giovannini and the conclusions of Federico Ghizzoni, CEO of the Group. “Today technology offers extraordinary opportunities both for companies and for individuals – noted Enrico Giovannini – But we need to be able to seize them and to do this we need an extraordinary work of awareness and training. The Forum represented an excellent opportunity to discuss what the various economic agents - including banks - can do to transform opportunities into reality, so as to improve the competitiveness of businesses, the sustainability of development and the quality of life of citizens" .
“The digital revolution – commented Federico Ghizzoni – is imposing unprecedented speeds of change on everyone. Traditional businesses are being attacked by new competitors, who benefit from lower costs thanks to new technologies and direct access to customers all over the world thanks to the internet. Banks are also dealing with new competitors, including non-banking ones: around 4.000 new operators are specializing in areas such as payments (PayPal, ApplePay) or peer-to-peer lending (Lending Club). Over the past 5 years, more than $25 billion has been invested in FinTech globally, more than doubling since 2014.
However, it should be clarified that digital channels represent above all a great opportunity, as they multiply the opportunities for contact with the customer: those who use only the physical branch come into contact with us on average 10 times a year, against 180 for those who use all channels".
“Digitization – added Gabriele Piccini – is an essential path for all private or public entities. For us, banking means changing skin, but also generating and facilitating this change among people. This is where the strong education activity throughout the territory that we are doing for both families and businesses starts. Digital is the new means to do things differently: continue to give credit, but in real time, continue to pay in a shop, but using only your smartphone, continue to help businesses to be more competitive, but with tools big data reading online. Investments, but above all speed of action and reaction, will make the difference. The aim of today's meeting was to take stock of where we have arrived as a bank, but also as a country, on this journey, but above all to identify the next steps to further accelerate this evolution".
