(20:12)
Morgan: And just almost right on cue, we have a question. So the first question. How does RBSI plan to ensure that that human and empathy element isn't lost in digital first? So how can you maintain the authenticity while promoting a digital first culture?
Jamie: Yeah, that's a fantastic question. And if there is a model answer for that, then you know, someone send it to me, because that's effectively (laughs) what we're trying to work out every day. I guess that the way that we work out what works and what doesn't is through experimentation and ongoing dialogue with our customers. Banks have talked for a long time in terms of being partners with their customers. But going forward that takes on new meaning and it is working out what that right balance is together. Yes, it would make commercial sense for a bank to just be we're digital everything and if you don't like it go bank somewhere else. But that, if we come back to that, is a bit about why we exist, as we don't just exist to make profit. We exist because we serve a societal purpose and that starts at the leadership level, the bank has to make sure that your board, your executives, are brought into this idea of, we've got a meaning in life and it's not just generate profit, that's a happy consequence of getting the right balance, the right services that customers will really value. So it's a test and learn. It's figuring out as we go, but we're starting to see, I think really positive signs. But great question.
Morgan: Awesome. So the next question is from Dan. So whether it's sort of in branch or in an ATM, how much are you using contactless experiences? Also how much do you think about contactless, following COVID where touching is going be a bit of an issue for a while. What does contactless mean to you? And how are you thinking about it?
Jamie: Yeah, so I don't know where Dan is based, what part of the world, whether you're UK or somewhere else, but certainly in the markets that we operate, cash usage has fallen through the floor. Nobody wants to touch it. I haven't touched paper money. Well really before COVID because I'm head of digital and trying to set an example but literally it has been months and businesses have adapted to that. I was out with my kids the other day and we went to an ice cream van, they didn't take cash. It was all about just contactless. So again, that was a trend. But we've probably seen five years worth of cash decline in the space of three months. That's beneficial for a lot of people, right. Cash is expensive to secure and to move and to manage and all those kind of things. It's also a favorite term of money launderers and so moving kind of all of that to digital, serves a lot of benefits for a lot of people. That said, there are some people who we risk leaving behind and that's where the banks have really got to step into this role of a trusted partner that will hold the hand of individuals and bring them on a journey, because otherwise we risk leaving them behind.
Morgan: So another question from Antonio, who asked a really, really great question. Which is about how we've talked a lot in this session about what banks should be accelerating and focusing on moving into the future. But are there also critical things that banks need to stop doing? And what are those things if they're any, especially off the back of COVID?
Jamie: So there absolutely are. Banks have notoriously made products and services over complicated, far more complicated than they ever needed to be. To the point where, we've had tons of litigation related to mis-selling, because people weren't clear about what they were getting and when and what value it delivered for them. So banks have absolutely got to leave complexity behind and become easy to deal with. That's first and foremost. The other thing that I think banks are starting to realise is that they probably try to be too many things to too many people. So I mentioned earlier that we are a full service bank, and we serve customers across the whole spectrum. The problem with that, when you've got limited resources, is that you stretch those resources across so many different areas that you become average in just about everything. In fact, the direction of the market is that new market entrants have laser-like focus on the niche or the customer segment that they can serve and they can serve brilliantly, and they'll go after just that little bit. So banks don't really fear this idea of one big competitor will come in and take away their lunch. But it's this death by 1000 cuts because you're going to get outmaneuvered in just about every market that you play in by someone who's just focusing on that area of value. So I think going forward, there will be more safety for banks, not in trying to be everything to everybody, but recognising what are our core strengths? What are the areas where we can really excel in delivering value for customers? And let's go after that.
Morgan: That's quite an interesting concept, I think. Because you know, generally the expansionist mindset is one of and then we'll take over this market and this market and this market, but again, speaking to your service based model, it's really about no, in how many ways can we own the customer experience of this part of this and I think that's fascinating. We've got time for a couple more questions. I do have one that was sent anonymously, which is always very exciting. So, what digital investment are you guys making at the moment? And what are you kind of happy about and what do you think is strategically playing into that thing that you just mentioned around sort of specialisation and owning customer experience in a certain segment?
Jamie: So one of the investments that we're making right now you know very well. Because we're working with Kin and Carta Create to build it. But we are building a mobile app for our corporate and institutional clients. This is recognising that the way in which they do their banking is starting to change. These are clients that key thousands of payments on any given day into a desktop. But then those payments need to be authorised by somebody else within the business and all that stuff. So then they're anchored to offices in order to authorise those payments so what we've looked at is, every single one of these people has a mobile phone in their pocket. They live their lives in a mobile way, maybe they're out meeting other clients, maybe they're, heaven forbid, on the golf course. Let's actually utilise the tool that they have with them and make that the way in which they can start and interact with the bank. So it's a first step along that journey, but it's really exciting because you now move into an entirely new channel and unlock a whole bunch of different value opportunities that you might be able to deliver for that customer. So mobile is definitely a big one. I think at the same time, we keep a watching brief on other technologies, things like voice AI, for example, is really accelerating at a rate even quicker than mobile phones did. So even though it probably seems novelty right now, give it a couple of years, and that will be hard baked into just about everywhere we go such as smart cars and it's already in our homes. So we need to be thinking about what are the journeys that we build now on these emerging technologies?
Morgan: Awesome, great. We have one more quick question. Have you seen any trends around sort of bundling and unbundling of banking services and sort of developing propositions with partners to provide that value-add service to customers.
Jamie: Yeah, definitely. And we probably don't necessarily talk about it in terms of bundling and unbundling, but it's about what connections the bank will enable for a customer. So we shy away from, you know, package deals, if you have to buy one of these if you want to get one of those, 'cause customers don't have time for that. I think the future model for banks will be that you can interact with us on your terms. So if you like our platform, but you want to have accounts elsewhere, you can manage those accounts through our platform, because we're done being siloed, we are building connections with other banks. And the value that we'll bring to customers is the connections that we enable, across all aspects of their life.
Morgan: Thank you. So, first of all, I just really wanted to say thank you everyone for joining us, and especially, obviously to Jamie It's been a really engaging and insightful session. And thank you for understanding my rambling questions and coming up with some really great, insightful and valuable answers. So if you do have any burning questions or just want to have a chat about anything covered in this talk, contact us using the details below.