Technology is shaping the future for banking. Cognisant of the future banking needs of the economy, NBP being the catalyst for economic growth, during the last 03 years has embarked upon various technology initiatives aimed towards provision of multiple delivery channels, transition from standalone "My Branch" to a composite "My Bank" model, improved service quality, reduce transaction cost, operational efficiency, enhanced compliance & controls and creating value for its stakeholders.
NBP under the dynamic leadership of its President, Syed Iqbal Ashraf, has rolled out, within a span of just one year, the much delayed and long awaited implementation (since 2008) of its new core banking application "Profile" across its entire network. Aware of the importance of branchless banking and to serve its customers better, the management within the last 02 years completed the unprecedented expansion of its ATM network (both on-site & off-site) bringing the total ATMs from 375 to 1,300+. Total NBP ATM transactions have reached to 2.38 M in October 2016. The world highest ATM (formally to be recognised by Guinness Book of records)of NBP installed at Khunjarab Pass (Pak-China Border - 15,397 feet above sea level) is the trademark of its commitment to provide banking services to the remotest locations. The bank's leadership vision for branch less banking is further complemented through its alliance with all of the country's telecos thereby expanding its network base from 1,409 branches to 150,000 telecos agents to meet the banking needs of its diverse clientele. SMS alert services, utility bill payment through ATMs, interbank funds transfer through ATM and 24/7 call center for un-interrupted services are also among the major achievements during the last 03 years.
NBP, being the nation's bank, since its inception has been providing platform for government initiated programs and services. The leadership recognising its duty towards the populace has played a lead role in embarking on a number of Government to People (G2P) and People to Government (P2G) projects. This includes disbursement to farmers under the Kissan package; flood affectees; Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of KPK; Prime Minister Youth Training Scheme (PMYTS) and Prime Minister Youth Skill Development Program (PMYSDP). Besides, the bank during the currency of its present leadership and capitalising on its network of branchless banking agents has initiated various projects for digital collection of passport fees, traffic challans, excise & taxation payments etc, and is also utilising technology for start-up of various cash management projects with both private and public sector enterprises. Further various other technology initiatives were taken towards automation of Government receipts and payments including pension payments by direct credit to pensioner account instead of payment over the counter.
NBP, materialising its mission of providing highest standards of services has established state of the art Complaint Management Wing and have upgraded its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system for improved service quality and reduced turnaround time for resolution of customer complaints. The bank underscores high importance to un-interrupted services and promotes use of technology to serve its customers better. Hence, keeping in view the frequent power outages and to bring cost and operational efficiency to its operations the bank adopted use of clean and green solar energy for its branch operations. To date 105 ATMs and 30 branches have been converted to solar energy and conversion of further 200 branches is expected by the end of year.
Cognisant of the hazards of the present day banking and the threats it pose to the overall operations, the bank has implemented the transaction monitoring system and safe-watch list screening system to safeguard its compliance and control environment. Besides, implementation of Kondor+ is also among the initiative that the bank has undertaken to strengthen its treasury and market risk management function. Further, biometric technology has been adopted for account opening and payment to pensioners for their convenience. The NBP leadership considers its human resource as an asset to the Organization and is continuously geared towards capacity building of its workforce through introduction of various e-learning initiatives. Implementation of SAP-GL and SAP-HCM is another such step aimed towards adoption of technology for data efficiency.
The above milestones, on road to success, are achieved despite the fact that NBP being a public sector entity and owing to its inherent ownership structure is subject to enhanced scrutiny from the regulators and all procurements are as per PPRA rules which increases the time lag for such technology adoption, the same is not the case with NBP peer banks. Hence, despite these challenges and impediments, the bank is swiftly progressing towards more modern and updated technology platform.
NBP, under the leadership of Syed Iqbal Ashraf, is onboard the trajectory of continuous technological advancement to retain its leadership position and serve its customers better. Soon NBP is planning to introduce geographical information system (GIS) for network planning, debit/prepaid cards, mobile application, digital wallets and enhanced internet banking features for its customers. All these technology driven initiatives will truly help NBP to serve the nation for banking needs of tomorrow.
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