Qorus, a global association for retail financial institutions, announced the winners of its first-ever Qorus Reinvention Awards – Europe during a live ceremony in Vienna.
These regional awards shine the spotlight on the best ideas and practices transforming the financial services industry in Europe – for the better. They are a spin-off of Qorus’s long-running Banking Innovation Awards and Innovation in Insurance Awards, which collectively attracted more than 800 entries in their 2023 editions. For the first time, applicants to both these programs can qualify for acknowledgment on a regional stage too.
“We know there is a proliferation of noteworthy innovation happening on the ground in Europe, and we want to acknowledge and get closer to this cutting-edge work,” says John Berry, CEO at Qorus. “Launching regional awards programs in 2023 was a natural progression for us after 10 years of running our global awards programs.”
Lubomir Olach, Head of International Development at Qorus, concurs: “The groundswell of support by financial services players in the region has been extremely encouraging, and we want to use these awards to inspire others in their transformation journeys.”
The winners of the Qorus Reinvention Awards – Europe 2024 are:
• Intesa Sanpaolo (Italy) – was named European Innovator of the Year. The bank’s relentless commitment to innovation across its organization has fueled the company’s strong growth and impressive technology capabilities. Recent innovations include ‘Switcho’ energy management service on its mobile banking app; ‘Ellis’ digital assistant that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to chat with customers; and ‘AI for Corporate Targeting Automation’ that identifies the best products for corporate customers. Intesa Sanpaolo also recently launched Isybank, its digital challenger bank, with an impressive 22,000 downloads of the app in its first month of operation. Runners-up in silver and bronze place were Caixabank (Spain) and Fidelidade (Portugal), respectively.
• Yapı ve Kredi Bankası (Turkey) – received the Customer Experience award for ‘My World super app’ that incorporates the My Car+ vehicle management service, My Home+ home administration facility, My Bank+ integrated banking offering and My Trips+ travel planner. This app has attracted more than 12.3 million digital banking users. Runners-up in silver and bronze place were KBC Group (Belgium) for ‘Integrated Housing, Energy and Mobility Ecosystem’ and Caixabank (Spain) for ‘My Aggregated Plans’, respectively.
• Raiffeisen Bank International (Austria) – received the Distribution award for ‘My Finance Quests’ that uses the popular Minecraft video game to encourage financial literacy among teenagers. It has adapted the game to include interactive mini games that address topics such as bank operations, saving, budgeting and online security. Runners-up in silver and bronze place were Fibabanka (Turkey) for ‘Alışgidiş (Get and Go)’ and Grupo Millennium (Portugal) for ‘iziBizi’, respectively.
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• Ethias Assurance (Belgium) received the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) award for its ‘Urban Data Mapping Tool’ that helps local authorities in Belgium make their towns and cities safer. The tool uses information from multiple sources to identify, locate and categorise accidents that have occurred within a specific area over many years. Information can then be used by local authorities to optimize infrastructure, prioritize upgrades and curb accidents. Runners-up in silver and bronze place were Ageas (Portugal) for ‘Por um Mundo sem Rotulos (For a World without Labels) and Česká Spořitelna (Czech Republic) for ‘State subsidies in a mobile banking app’, respectively.
• Banca Widiba (Italy) – received the New Ways of Working award for ‘The Financial Advisors Team’. This is a new collaboration tool that aims to take care of customer financial needs through a totally digitalized process on its web portal, Wise. Financial advisors in its network can now set up a partnership between financial consultants in the management of a client portfolio, bringing together their two competences. The tool also allows junior financial advisors to work alongside a senior advisor, enabling effective inter-generational skills transfer. Runners-up in silver and bronze place were Ziraat Bankasi (Turkey) for ‘ZFG MOBILE’ and Akbank Group (Turkey) for ‘Expertise, Career and Development Analytics Program’, respectively.
• Allianz Partners (Spain) – received the Operational Efficiency award for ‘MAvalue’, a mobile app that allows customers to submit claims quickly and easily. The app allows policyholders to upload photographs or videos of damage to their property and in a few seconds check that they have cover, obtain a loss assessment and, if their claim is approved, receive a cash settlement. Runners-up in silver and bronze place were TBC Bank (Georgia) for ‘TBC Innovation Fund and “Working Backwards” Process’ and mBank (Poland) for ‘Conversion-Boosting Mechanisms in Paynow’, respectively.
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“These awards play a critical role by recognizing and rewarding the best and brightest ideas so others can learn and grow,” said John Berry, Qorus CEO. “No financial services player can afford to stand still. I am delighted that this showcase for innovation shows just how the industry in Europe has rallied to respond to disruption with impressive fervor!”
“The Qorus Innovation in Insurance Awards is now open for entries and the Qorus Banking Innovation Awards 2024 edition will launch shortly too. I am excited to see the progress and shifts in investment focus that will undoubtedly come to the fore in these rapidly changing industries,” added John Berry.
Qorus members can access a complete feature including a detailed presentation of all the winners here
