Itaú Tokpag

With Itaú tokpag you send money as you were sending a message, using only a cell phone number, without the need of a branch and account.

Innovation presentation

Transfer money is as easy as sending a message. The Itaú tokpag application (available for iOS and Android) identifies, who in your contact list, have already installed the app to realize money transfers via peer-to-peer (P2P).

Several opportunity points created a favorable environment for the development of this unpublished application in Brazil that transfers money between smartphones, aligning convenience, speed and ease of use:

- The growing market of mobile communication: according to IDC, there is a significant growth of smartphones sales in the country, with an augmentation of 110% between 2012 and 2013.

- Significant growth of the use of transactions with cell phones: according FEBRABAN data, the growth of the use of cell phones during the last 5 years was 226% / year.

- Maturity of P2P technology for mobile applications: ex. Whats App

- Publication, in 20/05, of the provisional measure (MP 615/2013) that opened the field for the regularization of mobile payment systems and the creation of electronic currencies, regulated by the BACEN.

- Brand Positioning: four of the largest banks in the world already offered this transfer money applications using this technology and none in Brazil: Commonwealth Bank (Australia), Barclays (United Kingdom), Chase e Citibank (USA).

The areas that participated directly were Technology (development and management), Business, Corporative Security, Marketing and Call Centers. The principal results until August 2014 ( 8 months after the launch) more than R$20 million transferred, 330k downloads and R $ 360 in average ticket .

Uniqueness of the project

Itaú tokpag was released in an unprecedented way in Brazil . Reinventing the service to transfer money between accounts , placing Itaú Unibanco at a level above the competition in financial services on mobile devices . In addition, we worked in an innovative way the easy and fun concept, with an institutional video of the product (to see the video, visit the App Store or Google Play and download the app). We can affirm that we anticipated the customer needs with creativity, taking advantage of the opportunities presented in the increasing use of smartphones and financial services on the mobile devices scenario.

The Reason Behind

From the opportunities offered, Itaú moved forward against direct and indirect competition. The Management Channels team strategists studied deeply the P2P technology applied to the banking industry and the relationship between consumers’ behavior use of cell phone and the need of making low value payments (adherent to the mobile payment model approved by the government). Using the obtained results, similar major applications developed outside Brazil were detected (Popmoney, Paypal and Quickpay fom USA, Kaching from Australia and Barclays Pingit from the United Kingdom) with the objective of adapting the processes created and adapt it to Brazilian reality.

After the analytical period time, the strategy was concluded with the creation of the development roadmap outlining processes, functionalities and project phases. The action plan started in February 2013. Using existing processes, like the transfer between internal accounts, the use of the application token and security access to current account in the platforms already available, iOS and Android, were used to accelerate the launch date and minimize the developing time since the challenge was to finish the first stage of development and release the app in 2013.

Results

Last year, between the months of November and December, we reached more than 100K downloads, with 65% of active users. By the end of 2013, more than R$ 20 million were transferred with an average ticket transfer of R$ 185 for operation. Until august 2014, 330K downloads with 65% of recurrent customers with a median of R$360 average ticket. The total of transactions, since the launch date until August 2014 summarized more than $20 million. With brand exposure, after the release, clippings were distributed to specialized digital media that generated positive news about the new app:

“The Itaú Tokpag is a very practical way to transfer money to anyone who has a bank account. It could seem a little bit insecure for its simplicity, but is functional. And of course, the institution asks for confirmation of your data before performing operations.” (TechTudo, do Globo.com)

“Only four banks in the world offer P2P transfer application; Commonwealth Bank, in Australia, Barclays, in the United Kingdom, Chase and Citibank, in the United States” (Decision Report e G1.com).

“[...] Banco Itaú wants to facilitate more our lives introducing the Itaú TokPag application. It intends to make transfers between account holders of the bank in a simple and intuitive way: through messages” (Mobilexpert)

In the television, two insertions were performed in the «Caldeirão do Huck» TV program in January that resulted in 285 % increase in downloads in the Android and iOS at 182 % compared to the previous month.