Local April 6, 2022 | 3:27 pm

Digital banking services could replace branches

Alejandro Fernández W., Superintendent of Banks.

Santo Domingo, DR

New technologies and digital tools represent an opportunity to have more agile, secure, efficient, and inclusive financial services.

This statement was made by the Superintendent of Banks, Alejandro Fernández W., during a lecture given at the XXVII Seminar on Industrial and Systems Engineering, held at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM).

The official cited that, in the international arena, trends point to the reduction of bank branches due to the migration of transactions and services to alternative channels, especially digital ones.

Fernández W. expressed that the progress of the digitalization of the Dominican financial sector is also notorious and pointed out that 45.6% of the transactions of multiple banks are carried out through online banking and mobile applications, according to the Digitization Ranking of the banking 2021, prepared by the SB.

He pointed out that 55% of financial entities have a data storage service in the cloud and are rushing towards the creation of initiatives for the automation of processes, the analysis of large volumes of data or big data, the use of artificial intelligence, the use of facial and fingerprint biometrics, machine learning, among other advances.

“It is worth highlighting the entry into force of the third version of the Instructions on Due Diligence, which simplifies user access to basic financial products and services. With the changes to this regulation, the SB creates the necessary legal infrastructure for entities to build digital linking processes (onboarding) safely and without undermining the rules of identification and verification of clients”, the Superintendent stated according to a note.

He added that a client would be able to open a savings account without going to a branch, relying on technological tools.

CRITICAL PATH
Digitization.

The superintendent explained that the institution had traced a critical path toward digital transformation.

Since August 2020, it has been working intensively on the digitalization of internal processes to positively impact both the supervised entities and the system’s users.

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Paul Tierney
April 6, 2022 4:18 pm

Not a good idea, don’t make it harder for people to bank. There are large segments of the population, especially the elderly, special needs people, and those without digital knowledge or devices that need local access to banks; bank locations they know that that they know them. The banks have the revenue and resources to maintain branch divisions.

Felix Arroyo
April 6, 2022 11:30 pm
Reply to  Paul Tierney

Well said! The elder will not have the savviness to keep up with the electronic thieves. Even in the US, people and big firms are victims of hacking and electronic money theft.