Establishing market leadership with online mobile banking

Challenge:

Reinforce market leadership by meeting clients’ expectations for secure and modern banking
Expand customer base, particularly among the younger population
Transform to an omni-channel bank

Solution:

Mobile banking application that is fast, secure and easy to use, known as IKO
Universal mobile payment system on which banks across Poland can conduct financial transactions, called BLIK
DXC partnership that enables continuous enhancements, user experience improvements and new functionalities for the mobile banking solution

Results:

IKO voted world’s best mobile banking application, according to Retail Banker International
PKO Bank Polski established in a leading position among adults under 26, who open an account every 20 seconds
90 percent of financial institution customers in Poland able to use BLIK within their mobile applications

The mobile banking and payment market in Poland has been one of the fastest growing in Europe. Leading the way is PKO Bank Polski SA, which launched IKO, its “bank-in-the-pocket” mobile solution, and BLIK, a universal payment system for all banks in Poland.

PKO Bank Polski, which has more than 9 million consumer and business customers, is also rolling out updates to the mobile app that allow single-click purchasing and contactless payments.

The bank’s success is powered by a market-first mentality that helped deliver mobile banking at a time when Polish consumers were still unsure about the accuracy and safety of banking with their mobile phones.

Innovate and grow through risk

“PKO decided to release a mobile application to reach new customers. We wanted to reach young customers, and the way to them is through the cell phone,” says Michal Macierzyński, head of digital channels at PKO Bank Polski. “The main risk when we began creating a mobile banking app was that there were very few financial applications on the Polish market. Customers were not used to them.”

“We have created a national solution which has become the standard for the entire Polish market. We’ve managed to reach a new audience, and it certainly has helped sustain the perception of PKO Bank Polski as a modern player in the banking sector.”

Michal Macierzyński, Head of Digital Channels, PKO Bank Polski

In 2013, the bank began working with DXC Technology to deploy IKO. The results have been impressive: In 2017, the IKO user base was 2 million customers, who made an estimated 32 million transactions using the mobile app. But IKO is more than a means of making payments. It is a mobile banking center where customers can check information about their accounts, cards, loans and deposits, transfer money and send requests for transfers, withdraw cash from ATMs without a card, make contactless payments, manage deposits and more.

“The application has helped convince customers that PKO Bank Polski is a modern bank that implements new technical solutions, and it provides those customers with a new communication channel with the institution,” Macierzyński says.

Today, IKO is the most popular mobile banking application in Poland. Based on feedback from more than 140,000 users, IKO ranks No. 1 in Google Play, Apple App Store and Windows Phone Store, with ratings at about 4.7 out of 5.

In 2018, Retail Banker International, a global editorially independent retail banking briefing service, evaluated 100 applications from banks all over the world, and selected IKO as the best mobile banking application.

The birth of a new standard

BLIK, which was introduced in February 2015 as a joint venture between Poland’s six leading banks, was a milestone in the creation of a national, common payment standard. The system lets customers use their mobile phones to withdraw cash from more than 17,000 ATMs and pay at hundreds of thousands of terminals and most online stores. The system is designed for convenience and security. All transactions must be confirmed by the mobile phone user.

“We managed to create a new cell phone-based payment standard that did not rely on debit-credit cards, but used a six-digit code that was generated in the application and could be used to pay at payment terminals, online, or to withdraw money from ATMs,” says Macierzyński.

In 2017, over 6 million BLIK users conducted 33 million transactions, including 22 million online payments, 8 million cash withdrawals from ATMs, 1.8 million point-of-sale payments and 1.6 million money transfers to a mobile number. That’s an annual increase of 270 percent in all transactions.

Currently, 90 percent of financial institution customers in Poland can use BLIK within their mobile applications.

DXC partnership built on trust

The scope of the solutions has spanned DXC’s services in design, application development, agile development, systems integration testing and business analytics. Working out of DXC’s delivery center in Warsaw and onsite at the bank’s headquarters, a team of 25 DXC experts worked with PKO Bank Polski to design and implement IKO and BLIK. Central to the successful roll out was DXC’s agile approach during the software development process that let the bank review progress on a day-to-day basis and influence how the final products look.

Cooperation between PKO Bank Polski and DXC is based on mutual trust. Whenever issues pop up, DXC supports the bank in solving them, says Aneta Biernat, director of the retail e-banking, mobile and card applications development bureau at PKO Bank Polski. “We can always work together in one room, think about, and solve all of the issues that occur when implementing a new app version or business idea,” she says.

The strength of IKO and BLIK has set the stage for PKO Bank Polski’s market leadership today and in the future. Says Macierzyński, “We have created a national solution which has become the standard for the entire Polish market. We’ve managed to reach a new audience, and it certainly has helped sustain the perception of PKO Bank Polski as a modern player in the banking sector.”

DXC’s ongoing work with PKO Bank Polski will reinforce its leadership position as it meets the evolving demands of its customers and fulfills its goal of omni-channel banking.