Digital transformation is to find death. No digital transformation is waiting for death. What should small and medium banks do?

Ili Li Linhong (fintech practitioner)
The digital transformation of the banking industry is not a new word.
The a few years ago, the industry has begun to discuss digital -related topics, but at that time, more emphasis was on retail transformation, Internet transformation, etc., focusing on the specific business fields or modules of banks. The reinvention and change of bank business omni -channel, full process, full scene, and full business, especially the new crown pneumonia epidemic in 2020, accelerate the application and popularization of digital financial services of “non -contact”, and discuss the discussion of digital transformation. It is also wider and enthusiastic.
is due to the discussion of this “hundreds of disputes”. The industry’s value, positioning, and trend of the digital transformation of banks in the industry also have a more comprehensive and systematic recognition.
but digital transformation is a long -term gradual process. From the electronicization and data concentration of data in the 1990s, to the birth of electronic banks at the beginning of the millennium, and then from 2010 Replacement outlets, as well as the direct sales banks that have been promoted in 2014, the first year of the opening bank in 2018, until the current digital banks and smart banks, we can see that from informationization to online to digitalization, it is a progressive layer The trend of gradual development.
The gradual development of the digitalization of banks cannot be separated from the support and improvement of infrastructure. From 2G, 3G to 4G, and current 5G, the development of communication technology and the prosperity of the mobile Internet provide solid infrastructure for the digital transformation of the banking industry. The arrival of the industry Internet, the digital transformation of the banking industry has also entered a new stage, ushered in more intelligent and disruptive innovation.
Compared with small and medium -sized banks, large banks and national joint -stock banks have earlier exploration in digital transformation, and the results are richer. For example, as early as 2018, Pudong Development Bank proposed to create a first -class digital ecological bank and put forward the concept of “unbounded open bank”. In 2017, China Merchants Bank proposed to build a “fintech bank” and continuously increased investment in financial technology innovation. In 2019, it was launched in Qingfeng culture. It is the openness of culture and the butterfly changes. “It focuses on building a flat -looking and equal Qingfeng culture, and integrates digitalization into blood and bone marrow.
In addition, large banks are also independent operations of financial technology subsidiaries, exported to the outside world, set up a new digital service for the full process of consumer finance subsidiaries to explore consumer credit, and set up an independent legal person direct -selling bank test line on the full license. In terms of operations and other aspects, many explores and achieved fruitful results.
If, as an important part of the banking system, small and medium -sized banks are limited by factors such as capital, location, talent and other factors, and have obvious congenital deficiencies in digital transformation, but “but it is difficult, Fang Xianyong”, small and medium banks in digital transformation in digital transformation The urgency is stronger, the pressure is greater, the determination is greater, and the movement is the most decisive.
. Digital transformation of small and medium -sized banks: From partial test water to the system to advance
Wezing at today’s historical high, look back at the digital transformation of the banking industry, we can clearly see that digital transformation The drive from market demand is the outbreak of a certain business, extending to a certain business line and section, and then forming a wave of transformation of the entire industry and even the entire industry.
In fact, the digital transformation of small and medium -sized banks starts earlier, and the direct selling banks in 2014 can start. However, in the past five years, the innovation and exploration made in specific business “points”, and the digital expression forms have also concentrated in a certain business sector or bar line, such as electronic accounts in 2014, direct sales banks, 2015 The year’s Internet finance, retail transformation in 2016, smart outlets in 2017, open banks in 2018, agile banks and science and technology subsidiaries in 2019, and digital banks in 2020. Behind the different concepts, the focus of small and medium -sized banks in digitalization is different, and behind the different focus points is the difficult promotion of different business departments (especially the network gold department and science and technology departments).
But since this year, the digital transformation of small and medium -sized banks has been from the “quantity change” of local water testing from the business point of a certain business department. From the digitalization of customers, extending to digitalization of internal management; extending from the digitalization of the technology system to the digitalization of business and the business of data; from the digitalization of retail to C to the digitalization of the company’s business to B (transaction (transaction (transaction Bank, supply chain finance, etc.), digitalization (asset management technology, etc.) of asset management and investment in asset management and investment; the digitalization of single dimensions such as products and channels, covering the full dimension including scenes, products, customers, services, etc. Digitalization covers various business segments and lines of small and medium -sized banks, various departments in front, middle and back, and various processes nodes such as marketing and operation and approval. This digital transformation from the altitude of the whole bank is a reflection of the idea of ​​a chess idea from the perspective of improving experience, consolidating the foundation, and digital ability from the perspective of the customer. New journey of digital rapid development.
The small and medium -sized banks have formed a very comprehensive digital transformation solution through reference to the experience of large banks and Internet banks, combined with their own practice, which include digital strategy, agile organizational structure, open and inclusive culture, but also include the culture, as well At the business level, the channel digitalization, product digitalization, marketing digitalization, etc. of retail -to -public and investment banks, etc., also include digitalization of internal management, digitalization of services, etc.
Therefore, the current digital transformation of small and medium -sized banks has extended from partial dimension to a full -scale, extended from business to management, and evolved from single soldiers to strategic war.
as when we are excited about the advancement of the digital transformation of small and medium -sized banks today, we still need to review several major stages of digital transformation of small and medium -sized banks, from a long -term perspective of history, and insight into the future of digital transformation.
This believes that the digital transformation of small and medium -sized banks is inseparable from three stages: that is, the issuance of the direct sales bank, spanning the open bank, and eventually forming a distinctive smart bank. The author will analyze it one by one.
. Direct selling banks: The pioneer of digital transformation of small and medium -sized banks
The author believes that the digital transformation of small and medium banks should be said from the direct sales bank in 2014.
V direct sales banks are imported products, but it is an important attempt and exploration of small and medium -sized banks under the impact of Internet finance. This exploration is not only the innovation of accounts, from physical cards and passbook accounts to virtual electronic accounts; also Not only the innovation of product, breaking the routine, reshaping the product form and process, and subverting the traditional product marketing and service operation thinking; it is not only an APP as an innovation of electronic channels and service platforms. Internet companies and Internet finance companies, design new styles of page UI and experience.
This exploration is the most valuable thing that the traditional organizational model and scientific and technological services of commercial banks have been boldly innovated. Many small and medium banks have set up direct sales banking divisions, which gives them important functions of online operations. Formed seamless connection and closed -loop management of online liabilities, online assets, including online asset products and liabilities products, online brand shaping and marketing customers, online operation services and customer complaint management All aspects. That is, while operating by traditional offline branches, it opened the infinite space of online independent operations and made important attempts.
It, in terms of science and technology systems, many small and medium -sized banks have established independent Internet cores different from traditional core systems, realizing the separation of traditional business and Internet high -frequency concurrent business. Based on this, it has explored Internet wealth management products, intelligence, and intelligence. Deposit products are even online loan products with full process.正是在试水直销银行的过程中，逐步锻造了一套强大的科技系统服务体系，并由科技系统的数字化，助推了业务的数字化，实现了银行业务从传统的人力驱动、关系营销向Important changes to technology -driven and digital marketing.
In fact, the private Internet banking established in 2015 and the first independent legal person direct -selling bank, CITIC Baixin Bank, established in 2017, are inseparable from the exploration of SMB in the field of direct selling banks. Therefore, it can be said that direct sales banks are the pioneers of digital transformation of small and medium -sized banks.
. Open Bank: The “key leap” of the digital transformation of small and medium -sized banks
Senges in the industry have been widely circulated by Xue Hongyan, Vice President of Suning Financial Finance Research Institute in the industry, referring to the opening of small and medium banks to find death, It is not open to wait for death, and hit the pain points of the development of small and medium -sized banks. Open banking is a key jump in digital transformation of small and medium -sized banks.
Counter -open banks are different from foreign regulatory drivers, but are driven from bottom to top from the market. Therefore, open banks are also a collection of open market demand. Similarly, the digital transformation of small and medium -sized banks is also driven by market competition. In fact, opening banks are also a form of expression in digital transformation. Digital service capabilities.
In open banks can be understood as a combination of open financial and non -financial service platforms to create open banks and need to deeply deconn the traditional financial services The management of components and componentization, disassembled the original coupling financial services into one of the relatively independent and encapsulated sub -units for internal platforms and business segments, and external scenarios and service platforms. The splitting is inseparable from the standardization of data and data governance. At present, there is still much room for optimization and improvement in the componentization of small and medium -sized banks. From the perspective of technology, the construction of open banks has put forward higher requirements for the financial technology capabilities of small and medium -sized banks.
It is the business aspect. The concept of opening banks is that financial services are everywhere, and they can be used at any time, perception, and needs. At that time, the bank’s financial services happened. From the past customers to the bank outlets, the customer adapts to the bank, and the bank uses what the bank is used to use it to the bank to adapt to the customer. Grasp the needs of customers and integrate their own financial services capabilities. In the past, the regional outlets of small and medium -sized banks and offline relations marketing have no longer existed. Instead, it is replaced by the help of data to build customer portraits, achieve precise marketing, accurate services, and form positive feedback closed loops. That is, the digitalization of business is combined with the business of data. Compared with the needs of customers’ comprehensiveness, diversity and variability, personalized and customized needs, the licenses qualifications, business varieties, and product structure design of small and medium -sized banks will have greater pressure. In addition, in the aspects of big data technology research and development, the construction of customer label system, and 360 views that constantly refine customers, small and medium banks still have many difficulties to cross.
It can be said that opening banks are an important mark to test the digital capabilities of small and medium banks. Whether it can cross the pass and achieve a critical jump, it is related to the life and death of small and medium banks.
. Intelligent banks with distinctive characteristics -the ultimate goal of digital transformation of small and medium -sized banks
Digital transformation has become an industry consensus, but the digital strategy of each bank should be unique, rather than the consulting company copy and paste paste and paste it. Come. Digitalization is just like the informatization construction of that year. It is a must in the development of small and medium -sized banks, but it is different from informatization construction. Informatization uses systems to solidify business functions and services, forming standardized and fixed rules, and fixed rules. Process and system, and digitalization rely on market demand, reorganize business functions, products, and services to form a fast assembly production capacity. It is an agile, flexible and flexible mechanism.
In the process of digital transformation, small and medium banks need to pay special attention to that they must retain or even strengthen their own differentiation and characteristics.
This previously wrote that index fontization accelerates banking differentiation. In fact, digitalization has also accelerated the homogeneity of the banking industry. We can feel clearly, especially in digital applications, which are more mature online deposits and loan products, we can see from the name that almost all of the names of the name of this bank and XX loan, even if it is visualized Named, its name can also see the traces of standardized templates. Digitalization itself needs to be standardized. Only after standardization can it be recorded, preserved and applied in the form of standard data, but the standardization of the process and the characteristics of services are not a concept. The relationship between meters needs to be clearly clear.
The value of small and medium banks is that in the long -term development process, the regional characteristics of people have no self, and cultivate their own differentiated service customer groups. The ability to be retained in the wave of digitalization and standardization, which is the foundation of the survival of small and medium -sized banks.
With the in -depth advancement of digitalization, the horn of online operation competition has sounded. On the basis of consolidating the advantages of offline competition pattern, the market competition of online and offline interaction will be more intense. Some small and medium banks that lack financial technology capabilities, lack operating characteristics, or have failed to preserve their own characteristics and differentiated capabilities in digitalization will eventually lose themselves in the digital trend and eventually eliminate.
Stime banks with distinctive and differentiated service capabilities in the future can build intelligent services through data -driven to drive the wind and waves in the digital wave.