In an interview with Dumitru Ciorici, the Deputy CEO of maib, Aliona Stratan, discussed about digital banking, the development of the Maibank mobile app, the number of app users, and the reasons driving more and more customers to install maibank. By the way, over half a million maibank customers are already using the mobile banking app. Here are the main ideas presented by Aliona Stratan:
Five years ago, the app was launched in a minimalist format. Subsequently, through tests and trial experiences, understanding how customers feel, what they like, and what they don't, we started developing it, making it increasingly sophisticated. After 5 years, I cannot say that we have yet reached our ultimate goal, as probably no one can precisely predict where we want to end up. As you can see, every morning we wake up in a new world with great demands and various new challenges. However, I can certainly say that today, after 5 years, the maibank mobile app is increasingly meeting our customers' needs. It aligns with our customers' lifestyle and increasingly reflects experiences that resonate with them.
Initially, the first crucial experiences that mattered to our customers were to check their daily balances, make transfers between accounts, and pay utility bills. These were the most basic and essential services they needed, but even here, there were elements of improvement. Initially, to make a transfer to someone, you had to know their account number and their full name, but now this experience is much simpler. You can make a money transfer just by knowing their phone number or finding them in your contact list. Accordingly, we initially developed the core services and how they are presented in the mobile app.
After 5 years, we already have over half a million customers using the mobile app, and we are approaching 50% of our customer base. However, it's one thing to have half a million users in the mobile app, and it's another thing to consider how often they use it. In the case of maibank, over 350,000 customers conduct transfers in the mobile app monthly, with over 150,000 doing so daily. This means that the app incorporates those services and operations that are essential to our customers.
One of the factors that led to the migration to digital banking was the pandemic. Another factor is the continuous development of new services and products that are introduced in the app. For example, when we launched the credit offering, and each customer could access their credit within the available limit, it triggered another wave of customer migration to digital banking, and this trend continues. Each new service brings in new customers.
