BIBD set to move to mobile banking

Goh De No
BRUNEI-MUARA
Friday, February 17, 2012

BIBD would like to have no customers at the branch in future, but to have all the services available through a mobile device, more particularly, the bank would like to make available mobile payment services by the end of the year.

Chief Operating Officer of Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) and International Director of Fajr Capital Ltd, told local media yesterday that having mobile payments would be a significant effort and that he would like to see it up before the year ends.

“When talking about dates and timeline, I like to go for pushy dates as opposed to setting a convenient timeline,” Dr Gyorgy Ladics said.

When asked whether BIBD will be partnering a Bruneian telco for this, Dr Ladics said that the current thought process or rationale is so that the bank has the ability to transact over the Internet and it should also be do-able via mobile phones.

“We see a successful role of online banking and we would like to continue the success and add one more domain, which is mobile (devices). How we exactly do that, I don’t know, but this is the direction we are going towards strategically. With whom and how, that is yet to be decided,” he said.

However, having a mobile service where customers can only pay bills it will be “boring” at this day and age, the COO said.

“It has to be more than that. Mobile banking makes sense because with mobility you can do a lot of marketing, promotion and information. As it will be a different generation (of users), we are looking at partners to think of what content can be put in to be interesting to our customers,” he said.

BIBD is set on having something “more creative” with innovation and great ideas.

“We are looking in partnership, to merge all of banking and social media,” he said.

Dr Ladics when speaking at the last of Asia Inc Forum’s THiNK BIG Innovate 2011 series, said that at BIBD, they are looking to transform and become the most competitive bank, so that BIBD is also able to compete “in a space beyond Brunei”.

“In a nutshell, that’s what we think about BIBD and that’s what the management thinks as well. In my two years here, we’ve worked on big changes and ensured all the systems out there are stepped up from the 18th to 21st century,” he said.

The aim is so that customers can feel and see the changes that have taken place in the back office, and Dr Ladics believe that they had,

“Now, our aim is so that customers don’t have to come to branch and have a full banking service,” he said.

However, having a mobile service where customers can only pay bills it will be “boring” at this day and age, the COO said, adding that the bank is also open to both Bruneian and foreign partners to materialise the idea.

In regards to BIBD going out of Brunei, Dr Ladics said that it would be difficult to quote a timeline.

“Now we are setting the standard in our organisation, setting the benchmark and goals, at an international level. Of course, it will take time for BIBD to go up to a stage beyond Brunei, but at least mentally, if we start thinking like that it will happen sooner or later. I will not say coming in next few weeks or months but that is the strategic way of thinking. This is the mindset, this is the benchmark, and we want it to be this way long-term,” he stated.

The Brunei Times

Please click here for the original article