Digitalisation has been an enduring trend for years already. And that’s especially the case in banking, where digital services are becoming the standard and are completely transforming one of the most traditional industries. From waiting in queues, being overburdened by administration and having to make frequent visits to branches, banks have adapted to society’s new needs and become an everyday ally to people that’s also within easy reach, in their pocket, available 24/7
The most important thing for a successful digital evolution in Serbia is the extremely supportive environment and commitment to the digital agenda that’s being fostered by the National Bank and the Government of Serbia. Thanks to this, the number of citizens using digital banking has grown over the past five years by an impressive 254 per cent, to 3.2 million users. Of these, as many as 21 per cent choose the first digital bank in the region: Mobi Banka. For us at Mobi Banka, 2023 is a year of great milestones. Our road to stable profitability is slowly coming to an end, and the positive business result that is now within reach opens the door to new investments and technological advances that will bring us even closer to our vision: the complete digital transformation of banking services in Serbia.
I believe that one of the biggest advantages of Mobi Banka is that we are part of the PPF Group, which nurtures innovation and technological progress, so we have the opportunity to acquaint ourselves with the latest global practises first-hand, and then to offer them to our users. In the domain of banking, the concept of banking identity is attracting ever-more attention. In January last year, the Czech Government facilitated the simpler introduction of banking identity, which gave more than five million users the opportunity to access public administration services through preexisting banking identification tools.
I believe that one of the biggest advantages of Mobi Banka is that we are part of the PPF Group, which nurtures innovation and technological progress, so we have the opportunity to acquaint ourselves with the latest global practises first-hand, and then to offer them to our users
In this way, a unique identity of citizens is created, which can be used on all digital services following the first verification. This would mean that bank users still use the well-known and extremely secure banking interface for authentication, but that now, after verification, they can also access other digital services of public importance, such as eGovernment. Introducing banking identity in Serbia in this way would be a kind of continuation of the exceptional project of the Government and the National Bank of Serbia “My data for the bank”, within the scope of which Mobi Banka, as one of the first representatives of the private sector, issued as many as 8,000 credentials for eGovernment in a very short period of time.
According to data from the Czech Republic, the introduction of the banking identity has completely transformed the way society works. A similar concept has been applied in Norway, where this type of identification is used by almost 90 per cent of the working population, and as much as 97% of the population aged between 20 and 54. Bearing in mind that there is already a large base of 3.2 million digital banking users in Serbia, I am certain that the introduction of a banking identity would be a major step towards the complete digitalisation of the banking sector, and I’m sure that Serbia is once again ready to spearhead global innovations.