18 | FORBES INDONESIA JULY 2019
IN THE DIGITAL econ-
omy, you are only as good
as the last transaction that
went well with your cus-
tomers. They have become
less forgiving because
switching providers is just a
few mouse clicks away. And
they demand simplicity, re-
liability, convenience, and
above all, value for money. Nowhere else is this more
so than in the banking industry.
“Today’s customers don’t compare banks anymore,
they compare experiences. From shopping online on
credit to getting a ride or paying for an out-of-town
trip, they want to do it anywhere, any time via their
smartphones. They expect their banks to facilitate
those transactions seamlessly. And our corporate cus-
tomers are no different. Keenly aware of this, we have
focused our attention, our talent and our energy on dis-
rupting the traditional bank that we were and replac-
ing it with the digital bank that we should become,”
explained BNI CEO Achmad Baiquni.
The country’s first central bank, and now the
fourth-largest in asset terms, seems to be doing the
right thing for its customers and shareholders. End
2018 assets under management at Rp 809 trillion have
more than doubled since 2013. Compared to the previ-
ous year, profit before tax grew 15%, while non-per-
forming loans shrunk by 17% to 1.90%.
“In a recent independent survey, we ranked first
place in service excellence among peer banks. We owe
this achievement to the wide array of digital technolo-
gies that enhance the experience we deliver to stay rel-
evant in the digital lifestyle of our more than 44 million
customers,” exclaimed Catur Budi Harto, who over-
sees the bank’s more than 2,000 physical touch points
across the archipelago as well as the micro, small and
medium business portfolios.
Smart digital platforms make superior customer
experiences a reality. But that same digital capability is
available to all and the country’s financial services space
is now increasingly populated by competitors ranging
from webcos like Google and Facebook, AI-enabled fi-DIGITAL BANKING, THE BNI WAY
nancial advisory
websites, fintech
startups and neo-
banks.
“With a digi-
tal mindset that
promotes col-
laboration and
ecosystem think-
ing, we have pro-
gressively built
our open banking
capability. We
already provide
API access to our
back-end capabil-
ity for 58 of the
106 e-commerce
and fintech start-
ups licensed by
the Financial Ser-
vices Authority,”
noted Dadang
Setiabudi, who is
in charge of infor-
mation technolo-
gy and operations.
There it is! The key to it all—the mindset. While
digital technology is mainly about the availability of
funds to invest in hardware and software, that only
tells half of the story in the digital economy. The more
crucial yet elusive half is heartware.
“When it comes to mindset, there is nowhere else
to start but top management. We are in the process of
propagating that mindset to all our people. Because
of our huge number, over 32,000 at last count, and
the short timeline needed to make an impact, we are
relying heavily on a combination of online and offline
solutions to develop our people,” explained Endang
Hidayatullah, who looks after the human capital and
compliance functions.
BNI seems to have found its way in the digital
economy. Where are you in the journey called digital
transformation? FCEO WISDOM ANDREW TANI
ANDREW TANI IS AN AUTHOR AND SPEAKER ON INNOVATION, STRATEGY AND ORGANIZATION. HE IS THE FOUNDING PARTNER OF ANDREWTANI & CO., A 40-YEAR RUNNING
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY BASED IN JAKARTA. HE CAN BE REACHED AT [email protected].“We have focused our
attention, our talent and
our energy on disrupting
the traditional bank that
we were and replacing
it with the digital
bank that we should
become,” explained BNI
CEO Achmad Baiquni.