Built on the foundation of ‘Bank of Sustainability’, KASIKORNBANK (referred to as KBank or the bank) delivers products and services to its clients and customers keeping in mind its core values – agility, customer centricity, collaboration and innovation. To demonstrate their values further, KASIKORN Business-Technology Group (KBTG), an integral part of KBank, provides state-of-art IT infrastructure and services, develops advanced technology and innovation, and designs solutions addressing customer pain-points and requirements. According to Mr. Wirawat Panthawangkun, KBank Senior Executive Vice President, ‘KBank aims at being a smart Data-Driven Cognitive Bank, using data to address the needs of customers in every lifestyle nationwide, with readily available technology for further development.’
KBank’s customer experience won four awards at the Digital CX Awards 2020 by The Digital Banker. The four titles that the bank won are ‘Best Digital Customer Experience in Wealth Management, Loan Offering of the Year, Best Customer Experience – Debit Card and Outstanding Customer Experience – Loans’. In addition to the award wins, KASIKORNBANK was honoured with Highly Acclaimed: Best Digital Customer Experience – Loan Application and Highly Acclaimed: Best Digital Customer Experience in Private Banking. These award wins and acclaims are a testament to KBank’s ability to understand its customer’s requirements and provide the best possible solutions keeping in mind the current digital trends and ecosystems.
The Digital CX Awards 2020 received more than 200 nominations across various awards categories and consisted of a judging panel that included subject-matter experts known for their integrity and unbiased judgment from companies such as Forrester, EY, Fuji Xerox, Bain & Company, Wipro Digital and KPMG.
“Understanding that data is key to remain competitive today, KBank has leveraged smart data and used analytics across various lines of business to improve customer services as well as operational efficiencies.”
Driving customer experience with K PLUS and MADHUB
Guided by principles of customer centricity, KASIKORNBANK products and services resonate with excellent customer experience and agility coupled with innovation. Proof of this is how KBank was quick to respond to the Covid-19 crisis that shook the world. As a part of its strategy to enhance customer experience, the bank had integrated all its service channels such as K PLUS (mobile banking application), KBank website, branches, LINE official Account, Call Center, and KBank Live (KBank social media). To ensure a seamless customer experience, KBank also linked K PLUS with its partner platforms to help its customer redeem Rewards Points by purchasing products from partner platforms. An additional feature let K PLUS points be converted into point of other member cards thus demonstrating flexibility in its service.
About a year ago, KBank demonstrated how important all segments of consumers were, when it introduced MADHUB – a hub for online traders to fulfil requirements related to business opportunities and customer needs. The bank’s understanding of the region and current trends led to the development of MADHUB which offered a variety of services to online traders such as tools for inventory management, accounting systems, learning programs, debit card initiatives with offer various discounts, etc.
“KBank aims at being a smart Data-Driven Cognitive Bank, using data to address the needs of customers in every lifestyle nationwide, with readily available technology for further development.”
‘Better Together’ – Leading the way with collaborations
Understanding that data is key to remain competitive today, KBank has leveraged smart data and used analytics across various lines of business to improve customer services as well as operational efficiencies. While using its own data to improve its initiatives and products worked in the favour of the bank, KBank also saw opportunity in partnering with data rich firm to streamline its banking services and potentially carter to a wider customer base. The bank’s collaborative spirit led to it’s partnership with Lazada – one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world. An outcome of this partnership was MADFUND (part of MADHUB) – a financing support program designed to carter to needs e-commerce traders, was introduced on the Lazada Sellers Centre app. Sellers who opted for MADFUND could consent to share data and will then be re-directed to K PLUS to complete the loan application in real-time with instant drawdown to their bank accounts. With Lazada, the partnership was a strategic one, where credit scoring and personalised loans where readily available based on each seller’s transaction history and profile on the Lazada Sellers Centre platform.
KBank didn’t stop at one partnership as it understood that customers relied on multiple platforms and the bank was quick to adopt a multi-channel services approach. Mr. Wirawat Panthawangkun, KBank Senior Executive Vice President commented, ‘To meet multiple lifestyle needs of customers, KBank has teamed with leading business partners within ecosystems at both the global and national level.’ KBank’s other partnerships now include Grab, Facebook, LINE, Lazada, Shopee, Central JD FinTech and JD Central – Thai retail giants; and PTTOR – an energy business to name a few. These collaborations and strategic partnerships truly live up to KBank’s commitment ‘Better Together’ which aims to provide an integrated ecosystem of businesses and banks who provide a fulfilling customer experience and journey.
Mr. Wirawat Panthawangkun, Senior Executive Vice President, KBankStronger Together
As the pandemic bought economies to a standstill, KBank quickly rolled out a Covid-19 insurance policy. This policy was available to all its registered K PLUS users free of charge via KBank Live LINE Official Account. The bank’s Covid-19 initiatives continued when its introduced unsecured lending through all its digital channels, ‘Reduction of monthly installment payment, a moratorium on principal payment, suspension of both principal and interest payment, as well as granting of new loans to bolster liquidity for business customers via the soft loan scheme of the Government Savings Bank and the Bank of Thailand,’ said Mr. Wirawat Panthawangkun, KBank Senior Executive Vice President.
Two separate program ‘Generous (Business) Owners – Empathetic Creditor’ – which includes reduced interest rates payable to banks by business owners and splitting the burden of paying salary due to business staffs and ‘Zero Interest-rate Loan to Retain SME Customers’ – with features such as zero interest, 10-year loan term and no fees, were launced to help the bank’s SME clients. These programs are expected to save up to 56,000 jobs.
Honouring their campaign ‘Stronger Together’, KBank has provided financial support amounting to more than 393,906 million Baht to 80,229 business customers, and 186,850 million Baht to 297,800 retail clients to date.
Image: Quality Stock Arts/ Shutterstock.com
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