ASTANA – Global Finance has named Bank of Astana as Kazakhstan’s Best Consumer Digital Bank. The financial institution was among the first round of winners in the upcoming 2017 World’s Best Consumer Digital Banks awards, which will determine regional leaders.
Bank of Astana has issued more than 350,000 cards and develops remote sales channels, said chairperson of the board Iskender Mailibayev. More than 80 percent of card applications come via digital channels, without visiting the office, he added. By the end of the year, the number of payment cards is expected to reach 500,000.
“The bank pays great attention to cooperation with internationally-recognised international leaders, such as Warner Bros., Wargaming and Rovio Studio. Not so long ago, we successfully started an IPO that attracted more than 1,700 new private investors, exceeding the subscription from 2.5 billion tenge (US$7.6 million) to 6.5 billion tenge (US$19.9 million), which shows a high level of confidence in our financial institution. Digitalisation is the only correct vector of development, which we defined for ourselves a few years ago,” said Mailibayev.
“Digital banking is here to stay and this year’s winners illustrate the importance of relentless innovation in products, systems and services,” said Global Finance publisher and editorial director Joseph D. Giarraputo. “Corporate and retail clients expect transformative new solutions and this year’s winners consistently deliver on those expectations.”
Bank of Astana has stood in the same line with global banks such as HSBC, Citi, DBS and Standard Chartered.
The winners were chosen among entries evaluated by a world-class panel of judges at Infosys, a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing. Editors at Global Finance were responsible for the final selection of the first round’s winners, according to a press release.
The winning banks were selected based on criteria such as strength of strategy for attracting and servicing digital customers, success in getting clients to use digital offerings, growth of digital customers, breadth of product offerings, evidence of tangible benefits gained from digital initiatives and web/mobile site design and functionality.
Global Finance, founded in 1987, has readers in 193 countries. The audience includes senior corporate and financial officers responsible for making investment and strategic decisions at multinational companies and financial institutions. The publication, headquartered in New York with offices around the world, regularly selects the leaders among banks and other providers of financial services.
