Vladimir Stasevich (Bank XXI, Sberbank): "We must prepare and prepare for the next stage of evolution - mass mobile banking"

On July 26-27, the Hakaton of mobile financial services will be held at DI Telegraph - the first hackathon of Sberbank. The total prize fund of winners in three nominations will be 1,000,000 rubles.
We present to your attention an interview about the expectations of a prototype mobile financial service with one of the organizers of the Hakaton - Vladimir Stasevich, product manager Sberbank Online, Bank XXI, Sberbank.


')
Vladimir, good afternoon. Tell us, how did the idea of ​​Hackaton come about?

We use a lot of crowdsourcing in the development of our products: this is Sberbank's internal crowdsourcing portal “Ideas Exchange”, and the Sberbank mobile application development community, where we gathered active users who help in product testing. These sites are very successful for us. The idea to organize a hackathon on mobile banking was born on the wave of this success. We are open to ideas and feedback from Sberbank employees and customers, and now we are becoming open to the professional community.

“Mobile financial services”: explain what is included in this concept?

These are financial services that are provided via mobile channels - this is also an SMS bank, which is very well developed by Sberbank, and mobile applications for smartphones. And, of course, we look forward to the emergence of new ideas and forms of financial services in the mobile environment. We are closely following where the next breakthrough will occur. Maybe wait for it from Google Glass? Or from wearables? smartwatches? Mobile financial assistant applications?

What features are needed in a mobile financial service?

If we are talking about mobile banking, the user should be able to view information and manage all banking products: there should be functions for replenishment, withdrawal, transfer of funds and payments for services. It should be possible to view addresses, coordinates of offices of ATMs and payment terminals - these are basic requirements. Also, now the standard mobile banking option is to view the status of ATMs (running / not working / running out of cash, etc.). And more recently, so-called “smart” services have become increasingly important in mobile financial services: cost analysis, management of financial goals.

Mobile applications, SMS-banking and mobile carrier payments: what is more popular now?

SMS-banking is, of course, more popular. This service is available both on smartphones and on ordinary mobile phones of the previous generation. He is actively developing. At the same time, the audience of mobile applications is growing very rapidly.

What usually discourages users and makes them refuse to use the application?

It repels the complexity or the feeling that it is difficult. This is a new product, a new way to interact with the bank. Therefore, we try to make our products as easy to use as possible. We spend a lot of effort on testing interfaces and user interaction, so our products have a high rating in app stores, for example, in the AppStore we have 4.5 stars.

What problems are involved in the process of creating and launching a financial mobile service? What is the best way for participants to prepare in advance?

It is necessary to test the grocery offer very well. Not every idea works, people in the management of finance are always quite conservative and carefully try new items. Offer bold solutions, test and make sure of their value to users, and together with the bank you can correctly transfer them to customers.

API provide developers?

We do not plan to provide access to customer data to external services. Therefore, we do not publish an open API. But we offer a different interaction model: integrating developer solutions into bank products. We published Sberbank's “Textbook API” - using it, developers can build a prototype banking application. Offer ideas as part of a banking product.
The only exception is in the Textbook API that there is a billing service for Sberbank's client from a point of sale / online store (e-invoicing). This API can be used by external services. We believe that having the opportunity to invoice a customer of a bank, new interesting ideas may appear at the interface of Internet banking and electronic / mobile commerce.

How do you assess the increase in security risks for mobile access to financial services? How to counter threats?

We manage risks and provide the necessary level of security for our clients on all platforms on which our products operate.

What are your expectations from hackathon?

We expect important results for us: the creation of a community of "sympathetic" developers who are interested in developing banking products; developing expertise in collaboration and collaboration with the mobile product developer community; well and most importantly - new breakthrough ideas in mobile finance.

Will it be a single event or, perhaps, a series of hackathons?

We are conducting the first open hackathon of Sberbank, including in order to understand how effective this form of cooperation is. If the project succeeds, we will strive to continue the successful practice.

How will the winners be evaluated? Will there be audience prizes? :)

An authoritative jury of industry experts will select winners in three nominations:
• Best product. Nomination implies a detailed study of every aspect of the application: from the number of functions performed to the appearance of the various interface elements and its interaction with the user.
• Best design. Here it is necessary to thoroughly design the appearance of the application to solve the tasks in accordance with the recommendations of the experts.
• The best technical solution. We are talking about the development of the most technological architectural solutions and optimization of performance on various operating systems.
In each of the nominations we will give Big (200 thousand rubles) and Small (100 thousand rubles) prizes. And yes, there will be a special prize of the chairman of the jury (100 thousand rubles).

How do you plan to use the development of the participants?

The ideas created on the Hackathon, Sberbank, of course, will be considered as potential bank products. The form of possible cooperation will be discussed individually, but we strive for mutually beneficial fruitful cooperation with our partners.

How do new technologies affect Sberbank? What processes and trends are generated by the use of mobile technologies?

Sberbank is trying to find new promising technologies. When the technology is so outstanding that it allows us to build a new product offering, we perform product prototyping and testing for “live” users. In case of success, the technology is introduced into the products of the bank.
The situation when new technologies were mastered by competitors faster and Sberbank was forced to catch up with them was already left behind. Today we are talking about the movement at the forefront of technology that benefits the customers of the bank.

How new technologies can change the look of financial services?

They are already changing the face of financial services. Remember how you carried out banking operations 10 years ago? Through the bank branch. 5 years ago? Through the Internet Bank. 1 year ago? You have started using the mobile application and now you notice that you enter the application more often than into the Internet bank.
The appearance changes every day. For example, fingerprint recognition, where the flagship is Apple's Touch ID on iPhone 5s smartphones. At the WWDC conference in early June, Apple announced the opening of the TouchID API, which will definitely change the face of mobile financial services. Fingerprint recognition will be used very actively in services. We are at the forefront of this technology - we have already conducted research and created a prototype of a banking application that can be accessed with the Touch ID control. At the moment, the prototype is being tested in the “food laboratory” of the bank.

Is something being done for Google Glass?

Created a prototype of a banking application running on Google Glass. In general, it was an interesting experience, since it is a completely new type of device and type of user interaction. Now we are analyzing the test results of the application.

Vladimir, what, in your opinion, is not enough for a Russian bank to come closer to the notion of a “bank of the future”?

“Not enough” is not quite the correct definition :) What should we strive for? Besides, the bank not only passively fulfilled the “teams” and customer requests, but became an active financial assistant, able to anticipate customer needs and offer financial assistance or financial assistance at the right moments in life.
A bank that will be a reliable partner, able to help in different life situations, able to predict that you need help.
Most recently, banks were perceived by modern young people as something from the past, the life of past generations. E-money, non-banking personal finance management services, products of various remarkable start-ups in Russia and in the world were modern and innovative. But the situation has changed! Banks caught up with the cutting edge of modern digital technology and are regaining the title of “bank of the present.” Sberbank is actively investing in the development of new banking products that will form the “bank of the future”. And this is not only digital banking products, but the entire line of products interesting to modern man.

What changes and new trends do you see in the industry? Your forecast for 2015.

The most important defining trend for 2015 is a move to mobility. Mobile banking is gaining momentum, becoming a daily way of interaction between the client and the bank. And if earlier we talked about the fact that there are advanced customers who use mobile banking, now we all have to prepare and prepare for the next stage of evolution - mass mobile banking.

Vladimir, thank you for your time. See you at the Hackathon mobile financial services !