LONDON, UK: The Savings Banks Group, a Finnish cooperative banking group, announced today that it will launch an extensive business development project this autumn, which will include concrete steps towards the realisation of its digital vision.

The project aims to enable the seamless integration of in-person and digital services, which will enhance the service experience for both customers and employees.

The project is driven by the changing customer behaviour and expectations, which increase the demand for digital services. The Savings Banks Group plans to invest in digitalisation to provide more smooth, transparent and quick services in the future. The project will also allow the Savings Banks Group to respond more rapidly to the changing needs of customers and offer them more flexibility in choosing the most suitable service channels.

The project is expected to take approximately five years and will be carried out in cooperation with several suppliers, including Tietoevry, Microsoft, Samlink and twoday. The project will involve the renewal of the lending system, the creation of a new customer relationship management system and the harmonisation of related processes, among other things. The first-stage deployment of the systems will take place gradually by the end of 2026.

The project is also expected to create new job opportunities for digitalisation experts, as the Savings Banks Group will recruit more talent to strengthen its competencies in areas such as artificial intelligence, data utilisation, cloud services, customer relationship management and architecture.

The CEO of the Savings Banks’ Union Coop, Karri Alameri, said that the project is the largest investment in the company’s over 200-year history and that it is not merely an IT project, but rather a business renewal effort across all of the banks of the Savings Banks Group. He also emphasised that the project will not compromise the human aspect of banking, but rather free up more time for meaningful encounters with customers.

The Savings Banks Group is a Finnish cooperative banking group that consists of 23 independent savings banks and their central organisation. The Savings Banks Group has over 400,000 customers and over 1,000 employees across Finland. The Savings Banks Group is committed to responsible banking and local presence.