A slew of industry accolades has once again reinforced Nedbank Group’s position as a South African, African and global leader in innovative banking solutions delivered on world-class technology platforms.

In June, Nedbank took top honours for Best Innovation in Retail Banking in South Africa at the 2020 International Banker Awards for Middle East and Africa, and then followed this achievement with no less than five awards recognising its digital, technology and innovation prowess at the 2020 Global Banking and Finance Awards.

These awards included recognition for the Best Banking Technology Implementation, Most Innovative Digital Branch Design, and Most Innovative Retail Banking App in South Africa in 2020. Nedbank also took top honours as the Best Retail Bank in South Africa for the second consecutive year, and Nedbank CIO Fred Swanepoel was announced CIO of the Year, South Africa, in the Technology Leadership Awards category, in recognition of his tireless leadership in designing and implementing Nedbank’s industry-leading digital strategy.

According to Ciko Thomas, group managing executive, Nedbank Retail & Business Banking, the numerous awards validate Nedbank’s commitment to constant innovation — particularly in the digital space — as a key way for Nedbank to differentiate itself through the delivery of life-enhancing, client-focused banking services and solutions.

“Nedbank’s continuous efforts to integrate and implement its Digital first, and first in digital ethos, have helped us make it easy and rewarding for our clients to interact with us through innovative solutions that save them time and money.”

Thomas says that the economic and health risks of the Covid-19 pandemic have highlighted the importance and value of digital leadership. It is a means for any bank to gain and retain differentiation and competitive advantage in the fast-changing world of financial services. And he explains that “Nedbank’s recognition, is testimony to the results being achieved through its extensive investment of time, effort and human resources in digital innovation over the past number of years”.

People first

Importantly, Thomas notes that Nedbank’s ability to leverage this digital investment and market-leading innovation has been shaped by the bank’s commitment to putting its clients at the heart of everything it does. “Innovation for innovation’s sake is little more than puffery,” he says. “Every innovative and digital decision or action we take at Nedbank is assessed to ensure that it enhances the value we provide to our clients, and to the society in which we operate.”

He is adamant that this focus on serving people first, through digital innovation, is what sets Nedbank apart from its peers and competitors in the Southern African banking industry, and what has allowed Nedbank to continue delivering real and meaningful support to clients and communities during the recent challenging Covid-19 times.

“Access to digital banking is no longer a secondary consideration for consumers; it is an essential priority,” he explains, “and the Covid-19 crisis highlighted the importance of providing digital self-service alternatives, allowing clients practice social distancing. We are focusing on delivering more than banking, but rather partnering with their clients to provide them with solutions that help them manage their money well — not just in a crisis, but at all times.”

He points out that Nedbank has been 100% focused on creating and delivering authentic money strategies for its clients. This is underpinned by a digital transformation journey that has resulted in robust technology platforms providing end-to-end servicing and innovation-driven responses to satisfy and maximise the value we offer to our clients. “These latest international awards serve to reaffirm that this is the right strategy. We will continue our efforts to innovate and leverage digital to benefit our clients’ lives and society at large,” Thomas concludes.