Open API Sharpens Customer Focus

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Citi’s innovation strategy is “centered on its customers’ journey,” says Angel NG, CEO, Citi Hong Kong and Macau. “Any new technologies and innovations that we introduce have to meet clients’ needs or address an existing client ‘pain point’.”

Ng believes emerging technologies - including robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and cloud storage - combined with widespread smartphone adoption, better use of big data, and increased adoption of open Architecture Programming Interface (API), will enable banks to deliver better, more personalized customer experiences with greater speed and simplicity.

The role of banks will also gradually evolve, she suggests, to being more of a safe and trusted service-oriented platform.

A client-centric approach

“Mobile technology development, and the mass adoption of smartphones and tablets, have redefined the term ‘convenience’,” Ng says. Whether customers are ordering food, booking a holiday, or streaming music, their expectations of how convenient and personalized the experience will be has changed out of all recognition. “We must be able to meet and exceed these new expectations and make ourselves more relevant in consumers’ lives.”

The standard of customer experience delivered is what differentiates competitors these days, she says, and this applies to the banking industry, too. “Most people consider banking a chore and our goal is to make it simpler and easier without sacrificing information security. Our customer adoption rate for the various digital initiatives we’ve launched is a strong indication of their receptiveness to a good user experience.”

Digitization has also allowed Citi to scale up without the need for an extensive branch network. Today, 95 per cent of transactions take place not at a branch but via Citi’s digital channel. “This also means that customers have more choices too,” she notes. “Back in the day, they would open an account with the bank that had the most branches, as this would provide them with the greatest convenience.”

Open API

In 2017, Citi became the first bank in Hong Kong to adopt an open API, Ng says, giving developers and consumer brands direct access to the bank’s APIs through the Citi Developer Portal. Since the start of 2018, the bank has announced eight API partnerships in Hong Kong, covering the Cards, Customers, Money Movement, Onboarding, and Pay with Points categories.

“Our current API partners include AIA, HKTV Mall, Octopus, Watson’s, Fortress, EGL Tours, Zurich and Visa. In today’s world where customers are spending more and more time online, whether they are communicating or spending, the integration of Citi’s APIs with these brands enables us to build partnerships in key digital ecosystems.”

By opening its APIs, she says, a bank will make it easier and faster for developers and brands to work with it while providing a seamless customer experience. “For example, with Citi’s Pay with Points API integrated into their e-commerce platforms, customers of our merchant partners can easily use their credit card points to pay for online purchases during checkout. The entire process is seamless - it only takes three clicks - and most importantly, we are delivering a good experience to our customers and helping them make use of their reward points before they expire.”

Another important trend is embracing big data to create more personalized experiences for clients. “With data, we are able to provide our customers with personalized recommendations of more relevance,” Ng explains. “Data and analytics is a priority area for Citi’s Asia Pacific Consumer Banking business and will continue to be a key enabler as we look to create differentiated client experiences to benefit customers.”

A mindset for the future

The bank has recognized that facing the challenges thrown up by digital technology requires a new mindset within the organization. “While I wouldn't say that we are a tech company, in some ways we are behaving much more like one,” she says “Gone are the days when we had years to work on a project.”

Existing processes and traditional work habits are being changed to embrace smaller groups, shorter timelines and multiple test points. “We are encouraging our people to be adaptable, bold, curious, collaborative, determined and empathetic. We are all learning to accept that it’s okay to fail; the key is that we quickly move on and learn from the experience.”

The results of Citi’s 2018 annual global survey of staff show this attitude is taking hold in its corporate culture, with 81 per cent of respondents stating it is acceptable to take a chance on an idea even if it doesn't work out.

Looking to the broader future, Ng says everyone, regardless of their position in any organization or industry, will need analytical and critical thinking skills, a collaborative mindset and curiosity.

“An important message that we want to convey to the higher education sector is that gone are the days when the focus was on hiring finance and business graduates. We are after people who possess the right attitude, quality and agility, and who think like an entrepreneur, to drive innovation efforts focusing on the needs that are the most important to customers.”