Innovation 2020

DoKapsy app now available for non-CSOB customers

During September, ČSOB presented its new app DoKapsy which fully replaced its former app NaNákupy. Initially the app was only available to ČSOB and Poštovní spořitelna clients; however, at the end of this year, the app is opening to everyone. It is highlighted however, that ČSOB and Poštovní spořitelna clients may use a wider range of services of the app.

Arranging insurance via CSOB Smart Banking is now easier than ever! Even claims can be registered digitally.

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UBB has an entirely renewed UWIN loyalty programme, now in the form of a mobile app

UWIN is the renewed loyalty programme of UBB, part of KBC Group, which already brings together the bank's customers and partners included in the programme in one place in a special mobile application. It enables its users to quickly and easily get acquainted and take advantage of the discounts and promotional offers provided in over 500 partner sites. The offers are divided into different categories – travel, sports, for the child, books and office supplies, for the car, restaurants, fashion and others. There is also a special interactive map available to users, through which they can find the nearest and most convenient sites that offer discounts and promotions.

How does the programme work?

When you pay with your UBB credit card or premium debit card at POS sites, bearing the Programme logo, you accumulate a certain amount as a bonus. The bonus amount is a certain percentage of the purchase price, depending on the retailer where you shopped.

Czech Republic: Arrange a date with Hypotečka and learn where you stand in 20 minutes

Hypoteční banka now offers lighting quick preliminary loan assessment

Hypoteční banka introduces the new Mortgage Within Reach service. The service enables clients to easily and quickly check if they’ll be entitled to finance a property and receive a preliminary loan assessment, even if they haven’t picked a specific property yet. Obtaining the information for the evaluation from the client and the evaluation itself together takes only 20 minutes. This makes Mortgage Within Reach the fastest way to find out whether an investment plan is feasible given the applicant’s financial situation. All of that free of charge and without any obligations.

The desire to have their own home remains high among Czechs and most new properties that appear on the market are considered by dozens of potential buyers. Buying a property however involves a lot of stress, particularly if you have to wait for approval for your mortgage once you find something and therefore risk losing to a faster buyer. With Mortgage Within Reach, however, clients of the Hypoteční banka can have a preliminary loan assessment within 20 minutes, free of charge and without any obligations.

Hypoteční banka is the only bank on the Czech market offering the quick loan assessment service. Unlike standby loans, which used to be the fastest way to secure funding for a property, Mortgage Within Reach can provide information about a client’s eligibility for a future mortgage in a few minutes.

June always chooses the cheapest (green) energy supplier for you and arranges the contract switch on your behalf

Starting on 24 November 2020, customers of KBC Bank, KBC Brussels and CBC Banque will be able to use KBC Mobile to enter into a contract with June.

June automatically monitors all energy prices and promotions on the Belgian market. Using the customer's address and some additional details, June generates an accurate estimate of the customer’s energy consumption and then searches for the cheapest energy contract. If the customer agrees with the proposed contract, June arranges the switch, thus taking the admin burden off the customer’s shoulders. Environmentally conscious customers can also choose to have June compare green energy contracts only.

A subscription to June costs 2.99 euros per month via KBC Mobile. If the fee for signing up to the June service (after one year) exceeds the savings made by the customer by changing energy contracts, June will refund the difference. June’s customers switch energy contracts on average 2.8 times a year, so they invariably end up with the best deal for their specific energy consumption. They may terminate their contract with June at any time subject to one month's notice.
June will be available not only through KBC Mobile’s ‘additional services’, but also through Kate –KBC's personal digital assistant – who will start offering this service on 24 November.

How June works:
- Open KBC Mobile
- Tap ‘Additional services’ and then ‘June’
- Go through the screens explaining the June service
- Answer some questions about your energy consumption and June will provide an estimate of your potential savings
- Sign up for the June service and pay by direct debit
- Forward your EAN number to June after becoming a customer
- June keeps you regularly informed of the best energy deal for you and moves your contract to the cheapest energy supplier when you give your approval

Open a current account in just 6 minutes

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From now on, non-customers can open a KBC, CBC or KBC Brussels Current Account quickly and easily with the KBC/CBC Mobile app.

There are two ways to open this type of account: (i) either via itsme or (ii) by taking a photo of your ID card and uploading it along with a selfie or video selfie. This demo explains the whole process.

This ensures that the customer’s expectation of fast, user-friendly and seamless
service is met. The current account is actived right away and is ready for use in less than six minutes.

As a new customer, you can immediately use the many financial and non-financial services offered in KBC Mobile.

By rolling out Kate on 24 11 2020, KBC is taking a giant step forward in the service it provides to its customers, whereby making their life easier becomes the leitmotiv

Customers can ask Kate – the new personal digital assistant -questions regarding their basic financial transactions (money transfers, insurance claims, etc.).

For customers who so desire, Kate will play an important part in providing proactive, timely, personalised and relevant solutions in digital sales and advice. With the support of Artificial Intelligence and data analysis, KBC can work solution-driven to proactively make life easier for its customers.

KBC has deliberately opted to start with a limited number of cases to give Kate the opportunity to learn quickly. KBC will use the feedback it receives to quickly make any adjustments it feels necessary. Customers will notice that Kate will be able to do increasingly more every week.

More information can be found on the KBC website: www.kbcbrussels.be/en/kate

KBC, KBC Brussels and CBC bring Apple Pay to Customers.

A safer, more secure and private way to pay with iPhone and Apple Watch

• KBC, KBC Brussels and CBC, today bring its customers Apple Pay, a safer, more secure and private way to pay that helps customers avoid handing their payment card to someone else, touching physical buttons or exchanging cash — and uses the power of iPhone to protect every transaction

• Customers simply hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near a payment terminal to make a contactless payment. Every Apple Pay purchase is secure because it is authenticated with Face ID, Touch ID, or device passcode, as well as a one-time unique dynamic security code

• Apple Pay is accepted in grocery stores, pharmacies, taxis, restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, and many more places

• Customers can add their debit and credit cards to Apple Pay

ČSOB is the first Czech bank to obtain accreditation for the administration of a qualified electronic identification system.

Thanks to this, its clients will be able to use more than a hundred electronic services of the state easily, free of charge and conveniently via their internet banking from next year.

"Obtaining accreditation is another milestone in our ‘Digital with human touch strategy’, which means a huge benefit and simplification of life for our clients. With the help of internet banking login data, people will gain access to 130 services of the Citizen's Portal and, simply put, will be able to go to the office as well as to the bank. This is due to the great efforts devoted to the entire BankID project and the cooperation of a number of teams, to which my huge thanks belong, ”says Michaela Lhotková, ČSOB's Executive Director for Payment Solutions and Innovation.

The citizen's portal acts as a gateway to the state's electronic services. Its services include, for example, an extract from the points register of drivers, an extract from the criminal register, an extract from insolvency, a trade license or information on the expiry of a driver's or ID card.

KBC Ireland launches new Pension Product

KBC has announced the launch of its non-standard personal retirement savings account, KBC Lifestyle Extra PRSA (Personal Retirement Savings Account), offering customers a wide range of personalised investments based on their individual appetite for risk, reward and loss. The new product, the second to launch as part of KBC’s integrated bank and insurance model, offers investors more choice and greater control –all through KBC’s digital pension experience.

Similar to KBC’s Lifestyle standard PRSA product, customers can start a personalised pension fund through the KBC app within minutes, with the option to then increase, decrease or pause contributions while reviewing their fund performance in real-time. However, with KBC Lifestyle Extra PRSA, KBC’s risk profiler will recommend investment funds to meet a customer’s financial and emotional appetite for investment risk.

In a unique digital experience, customers can start a personalised pension fund through the KBC app and the self-serve capability, which is unrivalled in the Irish market, allows customers to track their progress against their own retirement goals, allowing more people to take control of their financial future. In addition all documentation is conveniently stored in the KBC mobile app.

Payments via Viber or Messenger? CSOB Slovakia introduces Payme.

Slovak banks are preparing a new service called Payme that will simplify cashless payment. Payment will be possible via a special link or a QR code. Tatra banka will make the service available to its clients on 20 October. Slovenska sporitelna will join Payme in January. CSOB plans to introduce the innovation to its clients even sooner – by the year’s end. “The aim is to make cashless payments even simpler for our clients, also via social network platforms, while retaining the high level of security with the use of existing infrastructure of the banking application and systems,” confirms the bank’s spokesperson, Anna Jamborova.

ČSOB is the first to bring an ecological payment card to the Czech market

Starting in October, clients of ČSOB can use a new ecological payment card when paying in stores or on the internet. The card will save 3.2 grams of industrial plastic waste and will decrease the carbon footprint by 7 grams carbon dioxide.
“Ecology, sustainability and consideration of the environment have been a part of ČSOB for years. We even have one of the most environmental friendly offices in Europe.” says Jan Sadil, member of the Board of ČSOB.

ČSOB launches new app: DoKapsy od ČSOB

Hit the stores with just your smartphone in hand

On September 24th, ČSOB has launched the DoKapsy od ČSOB application.
Clients may use this app to centralise payment cards and membership cards, use discounts or set up mobile payments.

DoKapsy od ČSOB offers:

All your cards in one place: You can view the balance on all your cards you have from us, easily change your card limits and enable and block online payments.

Easy smartphone payment settings: You can pay with all your cards using Google Pay with just a few clicks.

Pay parking ticket directly from your mobile: and when you need it you can easily prolong it directly from our app even from café nearby. Available in Letohrad, Moravské Budějovice, Nové Strašecí, Pozlovice, Uherský Brod, Ústí nad Labem, Vsetín. More locations will be gradually added.

Loyalty cards: Add all your cards to your smartphone so you don’t need to carry them with you. Simply show the barcode on your phone screen at the checkout counter.

Discounts from the World of Rewards: Save every month with exclusive offers from our loyalty programme.

Overview of payments: You can see all payments separately for each card.

All football fans will soon receive all the goals and highlights during Jupiler Pro League matches with image and comments, live on their smartphone via KBC mobile

Over the next 5 seasons, KBC has acquired the exclusive rights to offer mobile clips during the matches of the Jupiler Pro League ('near live clips'). In addition, KBC has also acquired nonexclusive rights to the online summaries of all matches.

From the end of August onwards all football fans, both KBC customers and non customers, will be able to use KBC Mobile to view the goals and highlights during the match and all the summaries at the end of the football weekend. KBC Mobile is the only app in Belgium offering such “Goal Alert”. Also football fans in Brussels and Wallonia will receive the same “Goals Alerts” on KBC Brussels Mobile and CBC Mobile.

Major Eurozone banks start the implementation phase of a new unified payment scheme and solution, the European Payment Initiative (EPI)

Today, a group of 16 major European banks from five countries (Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain) paved the way for the future launch of the European Payments Initiative (EPI).

The ambition of EPI is to create a unified pan-European payment solution leveraging Instant Payments/SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst), offering a card for consumers and merchants across Europe, a digital wallet and P2P payments. The solution aims to become a new standard means of payment for European consumers and merchants in all types of transactions including in-store, online, cash withdrawal and “peer-to-peer” in addition to existing international payment scheme solutions.

A pan-European payment solution to bring concrete benefits to European merchants and consumers

EPI’s objective is to offer a digital payment solution that can be used anywhere in Europe and to supersede the fragmented landscape that currently still exists. In doing so, EPI founders are responding to merchant and consumer communities that have been calling for payment initiatives to take a more pan-European approach.

EPI will first and foremost benefit European citizens, possibly boosting innovation in the world of payments. More than 50% of retail payment transactions in Europe are still done by cash today. The EPI solution will also bring tangible benefits to European merchants, by offering them a seamless, competitive and unified payment solution for the whole of Europe that is also available to all European consumers.

European first : buy film tickets at Kinepolis from KBC Mobile and K’Ching.

As from today any film lover will be able to purchase Kinepolis film tickets directly from KBC Mobile and K’Ching, the KBC app for youngsters. KBC is the first financial institution in Europe to offer Kinepolis tickets through its app, for both KBC customers and platform customers.

The use of additional non-financial services in KBC Mobile continues its explosive growth. In 2019

• 210,886 customers used at least one of these additional services.

• In total, more than 2,000,000 additional services were purchased, or an average of almost 10 services per user.

How does it work?

Based on the user's ZIP code, the application immediately suggests the nearest Kinepolis cinema. The user can also opt for another Kinepolis cinema and choose the film, the auditorium, date and time. Reservations for the drive-in cinema will soon be possible. This summer Kinepolis will be touring different cities with a drive-in cinema to bring iconic films to iconic locations. Completely corona-proof as you watch the film from your own bubble in your own car. Locations and programme can be found on Kinepolis on Tour (French).

As of 24 June, all KBC, KBC Brussels and CBC customers will be able to pay using a wearable

Pay your way, thanks to positive customer experiences during the pilot project.

As of 24 June, all KBC customers can also make contactless payments with a wearable, such as a watch, a ring, a keyring or bracelet.
They are able to pay now with a wearable, everywhere they can already pay contactless with their KBC Debit Card. A new element compared to the pilot is that Bancontact payments are now also possible with a wearable as well as Maestro payments.

Contactless payment is taking off right now. During the recent coronavirus lockdown, Belgians have been reaching increasingly for their cards and smartphones. After all, contactless payment is an extremely secure and hygienic way to pay for purchases. And making contactless payments using a wearable is even more convenient.

Meet 'Kate, your personal digital assistant'

KBC puts its customers first, and by implementing this new strategy it is taking its bank-insurance services and customer experience to an even higher level. With the support of Artificial Intelligence and data analysis, we can work solution-driven to proactively make life easier for our customers. From now on, customers who wish to do so can count on their personal, fully digital assistant, Kate. With Kate, KBC is taking a giant step forward in the service it provides to its customers, whereby making life easier for the customer becomes the leitmotiv.

A far-reaching analysis of customer needs provides insights into the behaviour of retail, SME and corporate customers and enables relevant banking and insurance solutions to be offered and the customer experience to be maximised in a pro-active and personalised way, as well as through a continuous learning process. KBC has translated this customer journey (from analysis to trigger and then solution) into an AI-powered personal digital assistant called Kate who gradually becomes more accurate or what you might call smarter over time and is therefore continuously improving the user's overall customer experience.

KBC can deploy Kate in all its distribution channels, but has decided to focus initially on its mobile app for the retail customer segment (KBC Mobile in Belgium and the DoKapsy app in the Czech Republic), before rolling it out to business customers at a later stage. Kate is a group initiative but the implementation will be adapted to the local situation in each core country.

How Kate works
Customers can ask Kate questions regarding their basic financial transactions (money transfer, insurance claim, etc.). But, for example, customers will also receive regularly personalised proposals from KBC in their mobile app to ensure maximum convenience. They are completely free to choose whether or not to accept a proposal. If they do, the solution will be offered and processed completely digitally.
In the first phase, which is due to start in November 2020, project Kate will offer a number of options in Belgium with the KBC Mobile app and in the Czech Republic with the ČSOB DoKapsy app (in Dutch, English and Czech).

UBB’s fully digitalized solution shortens client onboarding time down to 15 minutes

Digital clients of UBB may apply for a loan up to BGN 35 000 without visiting a branch of the bank

United Bulgarian Bank, part of the Belgian bank-insurance group КВС, provides yet another digital facilitation for individuals. As of today every individual, willing to become a client of UBB, may go through the process in a fully remote way – via the mobile banking functionality UBB Mobile.

Users only need to download the Bank’s mobile app UBB Mobile and follow the steps there – fill out their main details, download the Evrotrust authentication app, where they need to identify themselves, enter the additional data in the mobile app of the Bank and finally confirm to UBB the generated documents in the Evrotrust mobile app. The whole process can be executed within 15 minutes, anytime, anywhere.

Immediately after that users become full-fledged clients of UBB, able to enjoy the dozens of advantages as users of UBB and UBB Mobile, among which: applying for a consumer loan up to BGN 35 000; online payments in Bulgarian leva and foreign currencies with a fingerprint for enhanced security (or face recognition) between own accounts, to third persons/entities, to the State Budget; monitoring of account balances and movements, filtering based on own criteria; applying for a debit and credit card; deposit opening; blocking and activating cards in real time; deferral of credit card purchases into 3, 6, 9 and 12 installments; registration and free-of-charge payment of utility bills; mOBBi pre-approved consumer loan as a standing offer, available in case of need; conclusion of a Travel Abroad Insurance policy.

New handy solutions in KBC Mobile for those travelling by car or public transport

Now that the government is systematically relaxing the corona lockdown measures, Belgians are gradually resuming their social and professional lives, albeit still respecting social distancing and safety regulations.

From 16 June, KBC (Brussels) and CBC customers will once again have in KBC Mobile a number of very user-friendly and convenient mobility solutions at their disposal.

• Fuel "on the go" at Q8, i.e. you don't even have to pick up your bank card or touch the payment terminal (starting 22/06).

• Purchasing multi-journey tickets at De Lijn if you travel by public transport

• car sharing via cambio These mobility solutions were created with the help of Olympus Mobility, KBC's mobility partner.

Groene kaart wordt wit en gaat digitaal

In navolging van een Europese beslissing, vertaald door het Belgisch Bureau van de autoverzekeraars (BBAV) wordt de traditionele groene kaart vanaf 1 juli 2020 op wit papier aangeleverd en mag dit verzekeringsbewijs ook digitaal afgeleverd worden.

KBC maakt van deze wijziging gebruik om een nieuwe stap te zetten in de digitale communicatie met haar klanten en zal dit verzekeringsbewijs beschikbaar stellen in KBC Mobile en KBC Touch.

Het is een logische stap in het digitale aanbod van KBC naar haar klanten. Niet enkel het afsluiten van nieuwe polissen kan volledig digitaal, maar ook de schadeaangifte van de auto kan een particulier volledig digitaal aangeven en opvolgen.

De communicatie over een schadegeval gebeurt ook steeds meer digitaal, zodat de klant te allen tijde, en zo snel mogelijk, over de meest recente informatie beschikt.

Het verzekeringsbewijs is meteen elektronisch beschikbaar bij het afsluiten van een autoverzekering.

Apple Pay

UBB Interlease offers the first full digital leasing in Bulgaria

The innovative service of UBB Interlease EAD and Eurotrust Technologies AD introduces a new way of leasing contracts on the Bulgarian market – remotely via mobile application
UBB Interlease (part of the Belgian KBC Group) in cooperation with the Bulgarian certification company Eurotrust Technology, provide the opportunity for their clients to sign their leasing contract remotely without having to visit an office of the leasing company or the office of the supplier of the leasing asset of their choice.

The new process ensures speed and saves customers efforts – they are not bound by the workload of the leasing company, nor by its working hours and the location of its offices and can receive, read and sign their leasing contract in minutes in a convenient Through the Evrotrust mobile application.

In addition to convenience and speed, the digital signing of a leasing contract through the Eurotrust mobile application provides the customer with a copy of the document immediately after its signature and guarantees the identity of the parties through the strength of the qualified Electronic signature (EPC). And the signing, besides everything described above, is also completely free for the client.
“Providing a wide range of services to solve the problem of time and distance between client and expert for maximum convenience is an ambition of all companies in the KBC Group,” said Petar Andronov, CEO of UBB and Country Manager of KBC Group. for Bulgaria.

Four major banks and Isabel Group join forces to streamline business services with KUBE

The four major Belgian banks Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, ING Belgium and KBC, along with Isabel Group, have today announced the launch of KUBE. The financial institutions will use the blockchain application KUBE for sharing corporate data as part of the Know Your Customer process. It will streamline the verification and maintenance of corporate identities for businesses and banks. In this way, KUBE will accelerate the provision of services to businesses and intensify the fight against fraud and money laundering. KUBE will allow the Belgian financial sector to be the first to use blockchain on a large scale for the identification of businesses.

Banks are obliged to verify the identities of the directors and principal shareholders of businesses opening business accounts, and to do so regularly, to prevent money laundering and fraud. From now on, they will be able to share this information via KUBE. In this context, the five parties have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

Smart investment assistant Matti puts together tracker portfolio tailored to the client's needs

With Matti, Bolero makes investing in the stock exchange even more accessible

Matti the new smart investment assistant from Bolero offers:

Assistance with portfolio composition of trackers (ETFs), with automatic monitoring and alerting thanks to investment algorithm
On the basis of a selected universe of 50 ETFs
9 portfolio profiles with the possibility to indicate personal preferences
As of 1,000 euros
Sharp all-in service cost ( 1% excl. VAT)

This is for:

Both retail investors who want to take their first steps on the stock market with a limited amount of money, as well as larger investors who are looking for some extra diversification.
Bolero and KBC clients as well as people who are not.