About
The Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards (GRB Awards) are the pinnacle of excellence and exist to recognise the world’s leading banks that are pioneering product and service innovation.
COVID-19 will likely go down as one of the most disruptive times in financial history with millions of businesses and people having been adversely impacted. Banks, in many cases, have been conduits in helping to ease financial turbulence through the provision of low interest or emergency loans, SME support, innovation in payments and more.
Whilst the GRB 2022 Awards are for futurist banks that apply First Principle Thinking to redefine Financial Services, it is imperative that those assisting the backbones of economies in surviving the pandemic are recognised for their efforts.
The world’s leading and most definitive Retail Banking awards program will identify cutting-edge banks that blend the best technology with the power of their people to raise the bar in consumer banking.
The digital leadership race has gained significant global momentum and has more participants in 2022 than ever before. The growing influence of FinTechs and nonbanks seems an accepted fact, with legacy banks happy to collaborate with players to supercharge transformation across payments and digital. We have seen Tencent’s WeChat and Ant Financials’ Alipay become part of China’s mainstream banking industry by changing the way half a billion of its population live their financial lives. Investment in online lending platforms by both start-ups and incumbents remains significant.
In Europe, PSD2 and the open banking standards are certainly not failing to deliver by augmenting innovation and creating a more level playing field- incumbents have responded well to the challenge. Despite the scarcity of a regulatory mandate, Open Banking is catching on in other parts of the world.
The retail banking industry is rapidly embracing a mobile-centric customer experience. Investments in mobile technologies have increased measurably, with Asia Pacific leading the world in the fast adoption of digital banking.
Fewer than 20% of executives feel well prepared for the future whilst 55% view non-traditional players as a threat to traditional banks.
Why Nominate
Being a honouree of The Digital Banker and Global Private Banker sets organisations and individuals apart – we recognise the world’s preeminent banks and their executives that are at the cutting edge of innovation and their profession. These are the players that raise the bar in service excellence, offer superior products, embrace technology and digital disruption to re-invent the industry.
The Digital Banker awards and recognition programs are substantiated by a legacy of editorial accuracy and integrity. Our global readers of The Digital Banker and Global Private Banker magazines depend on them as the authoritative standard of excellence and innovation for the financial industry.
Who can apply?
With the addition of several new awards and a digital banking flagship category, this is the most up to date awards program reflective of the latest retail banking transformation in the landscape. With numerous new digital entrants, the MRB Awards have added new categories to assess the world’s best digital banks and digital entrants.

Past Winners
- 2022
- 2021
- 2020
- 2019
- 2018
Judging Criteria
The Digital Banker - Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards 2023 - Judging Criteria
Belief Statement
With co-judges from KPMG, EY, PWC, Deloitte, Forrester and other instrumental subject matter experts– endorsement for winners is globally acclaimed. They are also the world’s most authoritative and transparently judged private wealth awards.
Our judging process follows a numerical and quantitative methodology with specific weighting given to; digital innovation, digital ecosystems, customer experience, financial performance and leadership strategy.
- Depth of omni-channel integration
- API connectedness within broader digital ecosystem
- Degree of automation within client facing processes
- Time-to-market of new initiatives & agility of IT infrastructure
- Digital safety and security frameworks
- Active user growth (YoY) and incremental impact of digitally active customers
- Realised market share of targeted customer segment(s)
- Application of emerging technologies to service customers across platforms
- Real-time and ongoing communication with customer on digital usage, support and guidance through various media
- Collaboration with strategic partners, ecosystems and platforms
- Level of customisation and embedded optionality features
- Value-added wealth-management, personal financial management tools
- Synchronisation with customer life-cycle and profile
- DIY and self-service functionalities
- Customer Satisfaction Score with digital banking services
- Net Promoter Score of digital banking channels
- Apple IOS/Google Play Store Rating of bank application
- Market awareness and business intelligence capabilities
- Intuitive and contextualised user-centred UI design
FAQs
Do I Have to Submit a Nomination?
All awards participants are required to submit nominations through The Digital Banker’s online submission portal. The portal is where you will find the questions that need to be answered in order to be considered in the current year’s program. Institutions will be unable to participate in our awards programs without a fully complete submission(s)
Can One Project/Initiative Be Considered for Multiple Awards?
You may nominate one project or initiative across numerous awards. Please note however, these submissions are likely to compete with one and other. You must submit separate entries for each award.
Are There Any Costs Involved in Making A Submission?
There are no costs involved in making a submission.
May I Submit More Than One Nomination?
The Digital Banker does not place a limit on the number of awards you can nominate for. Please note,
If I cannot Access The Judging Portal, May I submit My Entries Via Email?
If your institution has firewall restrictions and you are unable to submit entries via our portal, you may request for the PDF questionnaire.