ArmInfo. Digitalization is not an end in itself for Ameriabank. The ultimate goal of this process is to create alternatives for serving bank customers through different channels. Director of Retail Banking of Ameriabank Arman Barseghyan said this, answering the question of an ArmInfo correspondent, during a press conference.
He noted that digitalization should not necessarily lead to the closure of branches. "Branches can be closed when customers, as a result of digital transformation, will not see the need to visit the bank. Naturally, no one will keep a branch without sense. But such processes do not take place in the case of our bank," A. Barseghyan explained.
In addition to what was said, he indicated that the Bank does not set itself the task of closing its branches now, especially in conditions when the client base is growing - on average over the past 3 years, the annual growth of clientele amounted to 60-70 thousand. Moreover, the head of retail banking drew attention to the fact that this year Ameriabank opened 4 new branches. And this despite the fact that 93% of the services the Bank's clients receive already in the digital space.
A. Barseghyan stressed: "The impression that with digitalization people are becoming redundant, or their role is decreasing, is erroneous. The reality is that in technological and digital processes, the role of a person is growing."
In this regard, Artyom Shamtsyan, Director of Innovation and Digitalization of Ameriabank, added that the automation of processes certainly has a side effect - when people are freed from work. This, he said, speaks of its routine nature. "However, having experience in the banking industry, we have the opportunity to retrain staff," he said. In this context, he noted that today there is an acute shortage of business analysts, project managers, product managers, architects, etc. "With digitalization, many opportunities are opening up for people today," he noted.
In turn, Artak Hanesyan, Chairman of the Management Board-CEO, noted that the Bank has invested a sufficient amount of resources in the digitalization of its products and services, and not only financial ones. This process, he said, will be lengthy. "This is a rather painstaking, complex and long process, because technologies are developing and we need to constantly meet the level of new requirements for technological solutions," he concluded.
Note that Ameriabank is one of the most dynamically developing banks in Armenia, which is one of the most stable and largest financial institutions in the country. Ameriabank is a universal bank providing corporate, investment and retail banking services in a comprehensive package. In the banking system of Armenia, Ameriabank is the leader in terms of key financial indicators (assets, liabilities, loan portfolio, capital).