Customer Experience Day is an international celebration commemorated on the first Tuesday of October. It celebrates the importance of customers, organisations and people who are at the heart of better customer experiences. Theodoros Papadopoulos, Chief Digital Officer at BOV explains the Bank’s aim to become The Bank of Choice, offering excellent human interactions and enhanced digital experience.

What does customer experience mean for Bank of Valletta?

Customer experience transcends the traditional notion of customer service. It’s about recognizing that we’re in the business of delivering memorable experiences rather than just products and services. Just as someone doesn’t buy a car solely for transportation but for the sense of freedom and innovation it represents, our customers don’t just engage with us for financial transactions – they seek a holistic experience. In the banking industry, where competition is fierce, designing and providing consistently positive customer experiences is our baseline.

As the leading bank in Malta, our motivation goes beyond mere customer retention; we aim to provide an experience that our customers willingly share and recommend, forming the cornerstone of our institution’s success, employee satisfaction, shareholder value, and overall growth.

What is Bank of Valletta doing to elevate the current experience and what is the role that digital channels play?

At BOV, we’re constantly pushing to enhance the customer experience we provide. At the core of this mission is achieving a harmonious balance between human interaction and Artificial Intelligence (AI) development. Over the past year, we’ve undertaken several projects to improve both customer and employee experiences.

We’ve launched a home loan portal through which prospective home buyers can accurately calculate the amount of money they can borrow, obtain a quote in real time and subsequently apply for their loan – all in a matter of a few minutes from the comfort of their home. However, we understand that buying a home is a moment that matters, so for those customers who want online convenience but still need human interaction, we offer digital meetings where a home loan specialist will provide guidance on the entire loan process.

We’ve streamlined the process of scheduling branch appointments with a new online booking system, so customers can now schedule appointments online with ease, eliminating the need for phone calls or in-person visits. The system has been successfully implemented at our Birżebbuġa, Żejtun and Marsaxlokk Branches, and is now in the process of being rolled out across our entire branch network.

We upgraded the screens of our ATM fleet, displaying a new, updated, and easy-to-use interface. The upgrades were made to enhance the user experience of ATMs, increasing accessibility and making it much easier to carry out the transactions that customers are so familiar with.

We have also launched an online portal for the updating of personal customer records, enabling customers to update their records at their convenience, without the need to go to a Branch. Concurrently, we’re transitioning to digital signatures, with several services already offering this option. For example, now customers can apply for internet banking over the phone and sign online.

Our aim is to make processes simpler, more efficient, and convenient, while at the same time positively impacting the environment.

Recently BOV celebrated Customer Experience Week. What is its significance and what did you do differently?

Bank of Valletta was the first financial institution in Malta to celebrate CX Week, marking our second year with an even wider range of initiatives. Our focus during CX Week remains constant – nurturing a culture of customer-centricity. For us, this week is a reminder of the importance of keeping the customer at the heart of everything we do, whilst also celebrating our dedicated frontliners and valued customers.

Theodoros Papadopoulos

Approximately 300 employees signed up to engage in CX Week activities – this represented a remarkable 300% increase from last year and shows an ever-growing commitment from our staff towards customer centricity! We had employees from support functions going to our branches and Customer Service Centre to immerse themselves in frontline operations, interact with customers, and exchange knowledge with colleagues. This initiative offered valuable insights into customer expectations and experiences, enriching support area employees’ understanding and how their decisions will ultimately impact the customer.

To promote customer-centricity, we organized educational activities such as a ‘Masterclass in Customer Experience’ webinar, featuring keynote speaker, Julian Douglas from The CX Academy. Additionally, an online CX Quiz for employees added a fun and competitive element to the week’s event.

Our leadership team actively participated in several CX Week initiatives. This included shadowing branch employees, listening to customer calls at the Customer Service Centre, collaborating with our Customer Issues Team to address complaints, and visiting various customer outlets such as Investment and Business Centres. The C-suite involvement continues to drive the significance of understanding our customers’ needs and pain points, and the change towards organisational outside-in mentality.

As part of our Voice of Customer Programme, we also held numerous Customer Focus Groups, led by our leadership team. This was an ongoing initiative throughout October, aimed at gaining deeper insights into our customers’ banking needs and their vision for banking.

Speaking of the vision and future of banking, we showcased an immersive augmented reality experience at selected branches. This offered both customers and employees a glimpse into the future of BOV, underlining our drive towards cutting-edge technology and customer engagement.

This commitment to fostering customer-centricity isn’t limited to CX Week; it remains an ongoing mission at the core of our daily operations. However, CX Week gives us the opportunity to take back these experiences and lessons learnt to our daily jobs, empowering us to influence positive changes and drive further the Bank’s mission to build a strong future with our customers.

How important is listening to customer feedback?

Listening to customer feedback is a linchpin of our commitment to continuous improvement. It allows us to gauge our performance, identify areas where we excel, and pinpoint potential pain points that need addressing. Through our Voice of the Customer Programme, we proactively reach out to 24,000 customers annually, customers who interact with us through various touchpoints.

The feedback we receive is reviewed, customer issues are addressed within predefined timeframes and actions are taken to improve our products and services. This ‘closing the loop’ mechanism ensures that we resolve customers’ concerns more effectively.

Customer feedback has been instrumental in enhancing several of our processes, including the ones mentioned earlier. It’s our fundamental belief that every new project, redesign, and business process re-engineering initiative should start with the voice of our customers. We act upon this belief because we understand that only by truly listening to our customers, co-designing and testing with them, can we deliver products and services that authentically meet their needs and expectations.

As I reflect on the past year, I’m struck by the tremendous progress we’ve made in our approach to customer experience design. While we acknowledge there’s more ground to cover, it’s crucial to emphasize that our mission as a bank remains resolute: to consistently surpass our customers’ expectations, providing extraordinary experiences that make them feel genuinely valued.

In this pursuit, I’m reminded of the profound wisdom shared by Maya Angelou, which resonates deeply with our commitment to empathetic leadership. It’s a simple yet profound truth that I hold close to my heart—people may eventually forget our words and actions, but they will never forget how we make them feel. As empathetic leaders, our impact on our customers’ emotions is the key to building lasting relationships and trust.

Bank of Valletta p.l.c., 58, Triq San Zakkarija, Il-Belt Valletta VLT 1130. Bank of Valletta p.l.c. is a public limited company regulated by the MFSA and is licensed to carry out the business of banking in terms of the Banking Act (Cap. 371 of the Laws of Malta).