Taiwan Domestic Technology & Operations Bank of the Year
Bank SinoPac redefines customer-centric innovation with temple banking
Bank SinoPac’s temple banking service
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hilst banks generally look to future spend huge amounts of time in unfavorable projections for driving necessary weather conditions. Before believers can digital transformations in their even pray, they have already spent a huge business models, some banks like Bank amount of energy in waiting and lining up SinoPac also look back to the past to see In its aim to reduce waiting lines and where digitalisation can fit in the traditional unload some work from the temple staff, day-to-day lives of their customers. With Bank SinoPac pioneered the Integration its aim to offer convenience and efficiency Temple Banking Service that provides wherever payments are involved, Bank cross-border integration digital banking SinoPac took to Taiwan’s temples and found services like ATM, mobile app, and opportunities to integrated cloud provide innovation in information. Clients can “To address some of these transactions. also rely on the Ann Tai gaps and go deeper into Chinese Lunar Sui automatic payment customers’ daily operations, service to work with QR New Year in Taiwan remains one of the codes for purchasing Bank SinoPac relies on its busiest seasons free blessing products highly-trained in-house of the country, as scanning. digital engineering capability, upon citizens and guests Ting Chen, chief a unit that not all banks have.” executive, retail banking flock to temples to light lamps and pray & products group at for good fortune. Bank SinoPac, said When Bank SinoPac saw that clients whilst banking in Taiwan continues to be face huge queues to pay temple staff in competitive, there are still plenty of gaps extremely cold weather, it discovered a that need to be filled so banks and clients huge opportunity to offer its services and can work together harmoniously. To address stay true to its “Banking is Simple” slogan. some of these gaps and go deeper into customers’ daily operations, Bank SinoPac Integrating technology and culture relies on its highly-trained in-house digital To be able to start the prayer practice in engineering capability, a unit that not all the temples, believers need to line up for banks have due to the popularity of thirdpayment and line up another time to fill out party suppliers. Having an in-house digital application forms. Due to the huge volume team allows Bank SinoPac to innovate at of people during the Lunar New Year, temple its own pace and allow bankers and the staff are overloaded with work and citizens developers to design entire processes
together. Chen added that Bank SinoPac places a huge importance on its talent, and aims to have a pool of people who understand finance and at the same time have a good grasp of technology and digitisation. People who understand the importance of going digital are sought after in the banking industry. “You do have to layout a very persuasive vision, because nobody is going to do the changes just like that. Sometimes you have to be doing a lot of internal marketing. People have that image in their mind, where would all these changes lead to? Setting goals is very important. We also need to extend collaboration and training to the employees outside our in-house digital engineering unit,” Chen said. Digital and traditional banking With 128 bank branches and 1,000 online channels, Bank SinoPac understands the digital direction of Taiwan’s banking landscape. However, Chen said branches are still needed in Taiwan. According to her, the digital channel can replace the time travelled to and from the bank, but it cannot replace the financial consultation expertise of the bank. Bank SinoPac introduced its Temple Featured ATM and Ann Tai Sui Temple Light app as solutions to the inconvenience and inefficiency that both temple staff and citizens experience as they practice their religious duties. Chen said these services show that digital banking does not have to be cold and indifferent and that it can have a place in a traditional cultural community. Today’s banking industry is steadfast in its aim of producing the bank of tomorrow, where digitisation is the name of the game and customers are at the forefront of innovation, but it also needs a much broader view to ensure that the bank of tomorrow does not neglect the importance of the past.
CONTACT Company name: Bank Sinopac Address: No. 36, Nanking East Road, Sec. 3, Taipei 104, Taiwan (R.O.C.) Phone number: 886-2-2506-3333 Website: https://bank.SinoPac.com
ASIAN BANKING AND FINANCE | December 2017 91