Tracing a 10-Year Journey Into Digital Banking
And Why It’s Here to Stay
Portions of the following commentary have been excerpted from the July 17, 2018 BIGcast series, entitled “Out-Partnering Your Competition,” with host John Best. Jeffery Kendall, Executive Vice President & GM of Global Banking & Financial Solutions at Temenos, and John Janclaes, CEO of Partners FCU, were both interviewed.
In the tech sector, 90 days can be an eternity. There are few digital-native companies that can demonstrate a 10-year track record in – and an historical evolution of – digital banking transformation. Because this matters to banking leaders seeking digital mastery for their businesses, I’ll briefly trace Temenos’ observations in this industry, which have led us to a deep understanding of the overall banking business.
When Kony, Inc. (now Temenos) was founded in 2008, there was an emerging need in consumer businesses, for all industries, in mobile. The market was anxious to figure out mobile technology; but, because the technology platforms were so new and diverse, it was very confusing, especially for regional and midsized financial institutions that couldn’t possibly outspend mega banks that were leading the charge.
Issues that seem fairly basic today – such as how to develop a mobile application that would work on Android and, at the time, Blackberry – were still being explored and developed. It was then, in the dawn of the mobile age, that Temenos got a leg up. We were there from the beginning at a time when people had some runway in understanding the desktop side of things for online banking, but mobile was the new frontier.
In the tech sector, 90 days can be an eternity.
Desktop had been in existence for 10 or 15 years at that point, but the banking sector, as a whole, was late in jumping into the digital user experience compared to other sectors like retail and travel.
Temenos started perfecting mobile applications and emerging as a recognized leader in the art of the possible. This is when we noticed a trend: Our customers kept coming back to us with the same request: “Now that our mobile side is working so well, we want to make sure that we’re managing the same code and capabilities for our desktop sites.”
This is when Temenos doubled down on what has become today’s digital banking transformation. We made the strategic decision to hone and perfect, not just the mobile experience, but digital in general – and to focus specifically on the banking sector where the need was especially urgent for regional and midsized organizations that were being outspent and outmaneuvered by giant, multinational banks with fleets of developers.
Today, this translates into Temenos going across all digital channels, not just mobile. We focus on the seamless, end-to-end digital banking experience, for customers to transact on the device of their choice, at the time of their choice, and in the mode of their choice. That is our mission and mantra – to support all those disparate touchpoints: voice, desktop, web, TV, and whatever comes next in the evolution.
Ten years later, we are the recognized leader in digital banking transformation. The journey that began in mobile continues is brought to bear on Temenos customers as we propel them forward; empower them to set their own agenda; and utilize Temenos’ frictionless, flexible technology to gain and retain their competitive advantage.