The Brazilian entity will allocate US $ 30 million to boost its online division in the local market
Banco Itaú bets on technology to scale positions
With an eye on the long term, the entity devised an investment plan of US $ 30 million in digital banking for the period 2017/2019, something that is aligned with its strategy of becoming the leading digital bank in Latin America.
Learning firsthand the situation in the country
The president of Banco Itaú and chairman of the Latam-Itaú Unibanco Strategic Council, Ricardo Marino, stressed that the idea is to think in the long term to analyze how the models of the future will be. “In that task, technology will help us a lot in our goal of being perceived as the digital bank in Latin America” he said. In this regard, he stressed that in Argentina, specifically, his entity will invest US $ 30 million for the development of everything that is digital banking. “We are not going to invest in the purchase of other banks, but what we want is to make a leap in terms of our real and virtual presence in the main provinces, leveraged in technology” said Marino.
About the competition
The strong commitment to technology leads the bank to analyze its competition with the fintech, agile companies that get to play right on their land. Marino takes it calmly and explains: “We do not see it as a direct competition, but we speak of a combination of cooperation and competition, because fintech are specialized in one subject, but none offers everything, so we are buying , copy and perfect the successful services they have”said the manager.
Being the main client of its clients
Next to him, Ángel Corcóstegui, member of the board of the Latam-Itaú Unibanco Strategic Council, emphasized that Itaú’s goal is to be the main client of its clients. “That is not just to give a card or a consumer credit, but to be the central account of that client.Every day, that client will ask you for a different thing.Then there will be fintech that sell you one or another product, but that does not change the fact that there is a main bank” he said.
Online transactions, another important feature
Meanwhile, César Blaquier, CEO of Itaú in Argentina, believes that there is a large space to be covered in everything that is online transactions. “In that we can contribute a lot because we are the first bank to launch automatic checks in the market and we also give the possibility of making a transfer without leaving the WhatsApp chat,” he said.
Now, in addition, Itaú put 4000 bicycles in the city of Buenos Aires, through an agreement with the Buenos Aires government, so that for 10 years those bicycles are free for users. “We have decided to bet on sustainability, which takes an effort in buying groceries, maintenance and replacement,” said Blaquier.
The paradigm shift is clear for Itaú
The idea that in order to gain market share it was fundamental to add office meters is already behind us. “The new business is already digital, the new consumer no longer requires a physical office, but online agility, in Spain more than 40% of the physical offices were closed, in Germany, 37%, and in the Nordic countries, more 60%”, he stressed.