Finance
milestone GRP
ties, we decided to improve them in order to make them more attractive places. By January 2013, Scotiabank Group is going to have 300 branches, but our ultimate goal is to reach 70% of the population. Banking correspondents are so important for us because people can recharge their mobile wallets as well as purchase them at these locations. We have a very aggressive strategy for the development of banking correspondents that will not only increase banking but will also serve as a platform for the development of mobile wallets.
penetration rate. Today, the transactions between chain distributors and retail shops are carried out by cash. We decided to enter this sector as we saw some good potential there and we are now working on a pilot program with around 400 businesses. The B2B mobile payment is a fee-free account, like a prepaid account, where you deposit a certain amount of money and, through your mobile phone, you can make payments. This same process will apply to our P2B customers as well.
Mobile payments are going to change the banking sector in Peru just as it has in Africa.
Milestone GRP - Do you feel this is the way to adapt to the changing market? Mr Bedoya - Absolutely. It is a way of developing a very original, friendly and easily accessible channel for our customers. In terms of banking correspondents, our aim has been creating important coverage to get closer to clients, not only through retail points, but also through kiosks.
Scotiabank
“Democratizing Banking in Peru”
Milestone GRP - Does this open up new markets for the banking sector?
Mobile payments are going to change the banking sector in Peru just as it has in Africa. We have worked to develop effi cient and innovative channels for our clients. We are not looking to stand out in terms of number of agencies, but in terms of services with very advanced applications.
Interview with Felipe Bedoya, Senior Manager of Channels at Scotiabank
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BCRP Reference Interest Rate
Sep.12
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Mar.10
Mr Bedoya - Mobile payment is seen as a way of democratizing banking even more than the banking correspondents. Mobile payment is a very big issue that we are working on, particularly in the B2B and P2B environments. In terms of B2B, the retail platform, while it has been growing, still has a low
Sep.09
Milestone GRP - Is this a way of democratizing banking in less developed parts of the world?
7,0 6,5 6,0 5,5 5,0 4,5 % 4,0 3,5 3,0 2,5 2,0 1,5 1,0
Mar.09
In terms of banking correspondents, our bank was the fi rst and it kept expanding. We can target people who do not have access to banks by using banking correspondents who can sell products such as basic saving accounts. In particular, we have been developing banking correspondents in several newspaper kiosks in medium-sized urban areas. This way we can get closer to our existing and prospective clients in a much friendlier way. In Peru, kiosks represent a very important selling point and therefore, together with the municipali-
Overall, we are constantly looking at innovations and ways of reaching the client in a friendly and effi cient way. This leads to the implementation of very clear strategies to develop channels that can meet the needs of different segments of our society. Our agencies in Peru are still an important interaction point and this is why we keep investing in them. Nevertheless, we do aim at developing channels that can generate new client interactions. This is why we are the pioneers and leaders in mobile payments and banking innovations in Peru.
Sep.08
Peru has a low banking rate compared to the world's standards and other Latin American countries. In Peru, only 30-35% of the population uses banking services which represents a very big challenge for us. That is why, in 2009, the Scotiabank Group created its fi nancial operations branch, Crediscotia. Crediscotia focuses on micro-enterprises and the emerging sectors in Peru. The Group’s objective is to meet the needs of all the segments of the population. In 2005, the government believed that a way to foster banking development was to create a new model with banking corre-
In Peru, only 30-35% of the population uses banking services.
Mr Bedoya - There are different models of mobile banking. The most basic model is SMS banking. As a bank, we decided to follow another path and develop smartphone banking. Today, Scotiabank has the widest range of services for smartphones and tablets. We are also developing other applications for smartphones and tablets, such as the reward program, the payroll program or the Scotiabank stock market. We are also developing another advanced application called Bmobile for those who do not have a smartphone or a tablet. This is a system that works with SIM cards. We are the only bank to have this system. Our aim is to develop as many facilities we can in order to provide the client with the best service.
Mar.08
Mr Felipe Bedoya - Scotiabank has been operating as a universal bank in Peru since 2006. In the 1990s, it was associated with Banco Sudamericano, but after the acquisition of Banco Sudamericano and Banco Wiese Sudameris, it formed as a universal bank. The presence of Scotiabank in Latin America started in the Caribbean, then Mexico, Chile, and Peru. Recently, it entered Colombia and has operations in Uruguay, Brazil and Venezuela.
spondents. This model uses lottery outlets, post offi ces and small retailers to distribute fi nancial products in places too small for bank branches. Scotiabank adopted a mixed model, with some retail chains and some smaller shops. Today, there are around 10,000 banking correspondents in Peru.
Sep.07
Milestone GRP - Scotiabank has undergone an aggressive expansion in the region. What is Scotiabank’s history in Peru and Latin America?
Mar.07
Milestone GRP met with Felipe Bedoya to discuss how Scotiabank is using new technologies to bring banking to every corner of Peru.
Scotiabank has always worked to improve how we reach clients in a more effi cient and cost effective way. The main challenge in Peru is to create a sense of trust. Banking correspondents have helped in this process. Only after banking correspondents were developed did mobile banking appear. Milestone GRP - Scotiabank has become a leader in mobile banking technology in Peru. What types of mobile banking applications does Scotiabank offer?
Mr Bedoya - We decided as well to enter the Smart TV sector. We look at Smart TVs in the same way as smartphones; in the near future there are only going to be Smart TVs. Smart TVs work in a very similar way to smartphones as there is a shop where you can download your applications. We are the fi rst in Latin America to develop this service and we did it to address a certain segment of the population. With our different services we are targeting all segments of the population. Our banking correspondents and mobile payments are more oriented toward the mass audience. With TV Banking we are targeting a more specialized segment of people belonging to the upper middle-class, between the ages of 30 and 55.
Sep.06
Scotiabank is a Peruvian subsidiary of the Canadian Scotiabank Group. It entered Peru in 1997 and has been operating independently since 2006. As a universal bank it offers services in retail, business, corporate and investment banking.
Milestone GRP - How are you taking this expansion and innovation into other areas other than mobile phone technology?
Mar.06
Felipe Bedoya, Senior Manager of Channels at Scotiabank, has over 14 years experience working in the financial sector and has been working as the Principal Director of Commercial Intelligence in the bank’s marketing division for the last four years. Previously he worked at the former Banco Wise Ltd. in the Strategic Planning Department. Before that he worked at Monitor Company, a strategic consulting firm, and at the Pacific Basin Economic Council Limited.
Mr Bedoya - The role of these agents is explorative in part. Once they reach a certain number of transactions in one specifi c area, we start evaluating. If we see that there have been many transactions in a certain place, we may conclude that we need an agency instead of a banking correspondent in that area. The agent’s role is very promising, especially in a country like Peru.
Source: BCRP
Global Investor's Guide - Peru 2013
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