The Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards

Retail Finance Digital And Frictionless Awards

The Retail Finance Digital and Frictionless Awards recognise innovations in retail banking across key digital domains, including personalisation, AI, DeFi, and open banking, among others, in enhancing customer experience, operational efficiency, and business growth.

Best AI-driven Personalisation Initiative
We believe the Best AI-driven Personalisation Initiative harnesses AI technology to deliver tailored banking experiences. It should excel in understanding and anticipating individual customer needs, offering bespoke services and insights, thereby enhancing customer engagement and satisfaction.
Best Big Data and Analytics Initiative
We believe that a successful big data implementation initiative gives the institution the requisite information, gained from collecting, processing and analysing large data sets into actionable business insights to the front line channels for precision marketing, supported by an increased effectiveness of propensity modelling, or predicting the value over the lifecycle of a customer.
Best Retail DeFi Initiative
We believe that the Best Retail DeFi Initiative leverages effectively distributed ledger technologies in enhancing product offerings, security, efficiency, transparency and customer services.
Best Open Banking Initiative
We believe that the Best Open Banking Initiative harnesses the power of open banking to create innovative services and customer experiences.
Best Embedded Finance Initiative
We believe the best embedded finance initaitive works by seamlessly placing finanial servcies into the customer journeys, offering more personalised, affordable and relevant coverage when they need it most. The finanical services can be embedded in either a customer journey or it can be embedded directly into a card or plan.
Best Digital Ecosystem and Platform Initiative
We believe that the Best Digital Ecosystem and Platform Initiative recognises financial institutions that effectively combine various digital services and partnerships, creating or orchestrating an integrated financial and non-financial banking ecosystem for its customers.
Best Growth Strategy in Digital Banking
We believe that the Best Growth Strategy in Digital Banking demonstrates exceptional growth in their digital banking segment through innovative strategies.
Best Innovative Retail Banking Partnership
We believe that the Best Innovative Retail Banking Partnership recognises outstanding collaborative efforts between banks and other sectors and fintechs that create new customer value propositions.
Best New Product Launch Strategy
We believe that the Best New Product Launch Strategy demonstrates the successful launch of a retail banking product or service with a notable impact on the market and the customer segment it targets.
Best Mobile Banking Service
We believe that the Best Mobile Banking Service offers exceptional usability, features, and customer satisfaction.
Best Digital Wallet
We believe that a digital wallet should allow customers to top up, receive, transfer funds and make digital payment transactions from the widest range of choices that is ubiquitous, seamless, instant and secure, 24 X 7, peer-to-peer, and interoperates between different systems.
Best Digital Payments Solution
We believe that the Best Digital Payments Solutions provides a seamless, secure, and efficient digital payments experience, facilitating effortless transactions for users across multiple platforms.
Best Digital Savings Solutions
We believe that the Best Digital Savings Solution offers the most innovative and customer-friendly digital savings experience, with exceptional features, accessibility, and user engagement.
Best Digital Account Opening
We believe that the best digital account aims to automate and optimise client onboarding for a savings or current account, documentation, and Know Your Client (KYC) processes by harnessing technologies such as program synthesis, natural language processing (NLP), optical character recognition (OCR) and machine learning (ML) capabilities
Best Social Media Engagement Initiative
We believe that a successful social media campaign engages in new ways of communication and the distribution of financial services and products to create not only trust, responsiveness and loyalty among new and existing customers but better leads generation and conversion.
Best Digital Brand Campaign
We believe that the best digital brand campaign reflects institution’s efforts to create a strong digital brand identity to build consumer mind share, persuade and realistically demonstrate the brand’s relevance to a customer’s digital lifestyle
Best Chatbot/Voice Banking Initiative Application
We believe that successful chatbot or voice banking services are not only able to interact with customers via multi lingual text and voice interfaces but offer highly relevant cost efficient proprietary services to its customers on top of a generic AI engine.
Best Robo-Advisory Service
We believe the Best Robo-Advisory Service should offer personalised, algorithm-driven investment advice, combining cost-efficiency with accuracy. It must provide a user-friendly platform, catering to varying investment profiles and goals, ensuring transparency and ease of use.
Best Stock Broking Initiative
We believe the Best Stock Broking Initiative is one that innovates in offering user-focused trading experiences, ensuring transparency, competitive fees, and robust market analysis tools. It should empower investors with education and responsive customer support.
Best Digital Consumer Lending Service
We believe the best digital lending service creates timely, relevant and needs based customer lending solutions, which result in positive customer digital experiences, enhanced customer loyalty and increased profits.
Best Digital SME Financing
We believe that the Best Digital SME Financing sets new standards for accessibility, flexibility, access to working capital and risk assessment with alternative means and data.
Best Digital Credit Evaluation Initiative
We believe that the Best Digital Credit Evaluation uses innovative approaches to credit evaluation that enhances decision-making speed and accuracy
Best Customer Experience Initiative
We believe that excellent customer service experience is designed around the customer's lifestyle and preferences, and should seek to utilise a combination of people, process and technology to reduce all possible friction.
Best Omni Channel Integration Initiative
A sucessful omni channel integration is one that demonstrates efforts to integrate a diverse mix of network points to deliver services and products in the most consistent and unified manner possible, driven by business Intelligence, real-time data management, CRM, cross-channel implementation and channel cooperation as well as integrated contact management.
Best Customer Loyalty/Rewards Initiative
We believe that the best customer loyalty programme achieves a strong bonding with customers and creates strong relationships driven by customer centric earning and rewarding mechanisms.
Best Anti-Fraud Consumer Initiative
The Best Anti-Fraud Consumer Initiative exemplifies commitment to consumer protection with innovative strategies against current and emerging fraud. It reduces fraud incidents, improves detection rates, and boosts consumer awareness and engagement. This initiative excels in using technology and data analytics for fraud prevention, alongside a clear consumer education and engagement strategy.
Best Branch Banking Initiative
The Best Branch Banking Initiative combines personalised customer service and advice with advanced technology, customised to meet local area requirements. It creates a seamless, frictionless, and efficient in-branch experience that prioritises customer satisfaction, enabled by multi-skilled and tech-savvy branch employees.
Best Employee Engagement Initiative
We believe that a well-run institution builds inclusive workplace environments where flexibility, diversity and value-based behaviour is celebrated and rewarded to create a highly engaged (digital) workforce. The areas of assessment are: employee development, employee engagement (internal), performance/reward structure and employee involvement (external).