The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

SCOTIABANK (Bahamas) will this year test mobile banking technology capable of serving all Family Islands, its top executive said yesterday, with 95 percent of customer transactions now conducted online or at ABMs.

Roger Archer, who is also the Canadian-owned bank’s vice-president for its northern Caribbean district, told the Bahamas Business Outlook conference that “we have to look forward” as technology is the only “sustainable” mechanism to provide financial services access in the Family Islands.

Disclosing that the proposed technology will enable Scotiabank (Bahamas) to “serve the entire archipelago”, he conceded that the regulatory environment “currently doesn’t support” its launch and legal reforms will be necessary to facilitate its introduction.

Mr Archer, asserting that the commercial bank had been exploring potential Family Island solutions for the past three to four years, said: “Only last week we introduced a partner to The Bahamas, a fintech (financial technology) company that’s going to partner with a local fintech company for this venture to be successful, because we believe the way we support the Family Islands in a sustainable way is through technology.

“We actually tested the technology last week, and the technology works.” Hinting that it is a mobile-based app, the Scotiabank (Bahamas) chief said users did not need a smart phone to access it. However, he added: “How do the regulations support that? The regulatory environment currently doesn’t support it. It’s going to take us a while.

“We hope to pilot it this year, but it will take a while. We have an incredible solution we could deploy, but it will be limited to just one or two islands. My team said to me: ‘Roger, you cannot solve for one or two islands. You have to solve for all islands of The Bahamas’. The technology we’re looking at will be successful in partnership with those two entities, which will allow us to serve the entire archipelago, but it will be challenging.

“It’s not only technology. It’s the governance framework because you’re dealing with people’s money. We need to make sure the governance framework is relevant, and that the regulator is confident that the technology is safe.” Mr Archer said Scotiabank (Bahamas) has also reached the stage where clients will be able to open bank accounts online without having to visit a branch in-person.

“We’re at the stage where personal accounts can be opened electronically at Scotiabank,” he added. “We’re testing the process of allowing the opening of accounts without visiting the branch. That helps the Family Islands. You’ll be able to sit in Abaco, Acklins, wherever and be able to open accounts and immediately start transactions. That’s the journey we’re on.”

However, Mr Archer later came under firs from Outlook attendees over what they charged was the “dwindling” quality of customer service offered by the commercial banking industry generally. One described the sector as the “boogeyman”, adding: “You’re closing all the branches, open from 9am to 2pm. Thank God I have white hair so I can get in.

“You have an image problem. The services seem to be dwindling. You’re asking more people to go online.” In response to the suggestion that Bahamians need to become more comfortable using online and mobile banking, Mr Archer said data currently available to Scotiabank (Bahamas) showed 95 percent of transactions were being conducted via such channels or at Automated Banking Machines (ABMs).

“We have to look forward,” he argued. “Financial services is evolving, and what we are seeing is 95 percent of customers are using electronic channels. We have to work with that small portion who are not comfortable.” However, the theme of poor customer service was also highlighted by Pam Burnside of Doongalik Studios in the conference’s online chat.

Addressing Mr Archer, she wrote: “One of the main challenges we have with foreign banks is the current lack of customer service. Regulations are one thing, but everything comes down to customer service which is frankly lousy throughout all the foreign banks. You treat your customers with disdain and lack of service, hence our disdain for your institutions knowing that you have made a hefty profit over the many years you have operated in this jurisdiction.

“I contend that you are not listening to the customers. You are focused on your bottom line and the customer is the one that suffers.... In addition, I would point out that the move to digital banking. Again, this is understood to be the way of the future, but it goes hand in hand with your responsibility to ensure that your ATM’s, for example, are maintained and functioning properly, and there is a lack of customer service in this department as well.”