With HMRC and banks announcing big changes towards digital systems, the financial sector follows tech development. Britain’s biggest High Street lender, Lloyds Bank, plans to close one main centre and cut 6,240 jobs. However, they also announce creating 8,240 new positions.
While Unite union reports on Lloyds staff morale plunging under the pressure, the bank officials pledges to a £3bn investment to support the change. The investment will found not only the digital technology needed, but staff retraining. Quoted by the BBC, bank officials said:
“This forms part of the £3bn commitment the group has made to invest heavily in its technology and people over the course of its three-year strategic plan.”
Also, they mentioned that 75% of the new jobs will be refilled with existing staff.
The era of “pay with your phone”
Lloyds bank representatives motivate the decision by customers’ preference to bank online rather than in branch. But this doesn’t come as unexpected, with digital technology progressing as we speak. Today, we can use our phones to pay at the restaurant or our favourite retailer. So we don’t necessarily need to carry our bank cards on us currently. Storing them on the smartphone makes it easier than ever.
Digital banking started with the ATM machines
The actual digital transformation started decades ago, with the ATM machines and the bank cards And it will continue to develop, due to all the advantages it presents to both individual customers and businesses. If we think about it, checking your account and paying bills on the smartphone makes life a lot easier for everybody.
But while such advantages seem clear, how does such a system help businesses?
At the end of those bills or purchases, a businesses gains from such easily accessible methods of payment. Two huge commercial global platforms owe their existence to these systems – Amazon and eBay. In fact, the whole e-commerce sector relies on them.
From employees payments to B2B transactions
Not only e-commerce businesses benefit from digital systems. Most companies can save time and make decisions using a series of online banking services. Using online loan calculators to budgeting tools, they skip a visit in branch. Even paying employees became easier since business owners can set up online payments. Most business work with a professional accountant to supports them in this respect. However, digital systems smoothed up such operations.
Then B2B operations, payments, money transfers, invoices all rely today on such digital systems. Hence, such changes as announces by Lloyds Bank seem natural. The banking industry should be prepared to face and manage transformations over the following years.
Staying informed on digital transformations proves crucial
What about your business using digital banking?
No matter what field you operate in, to offer digital payment and transfer options to either customers or partners proves vital. It also means you can correct any mistakes on the go. If your budget needs re-adjusting, you don’t need to wait until the end of the month statement to do so.
With the digital transformation progressing fast in the financial sector, staying informed will help you more than anything. In order to understand these changes and use them to your advantage, you need to understand how digital systems can help you.