BNPP Fortis: safeguarding customer trust with budget management tools
Emilie Jacqueroux, Director and Tribe Owner of Channels and Customer Experience for Individuals at BNP Paribas Fortis, is driving the future of financial services by delivering top-quality customer experiences through digital engagement services and tools. Last year, we sat down with her to talk about how money management tools can help consumers struggling during the cost-of-living crisis.
BNP Paribas Fortis supports and anticipates the needs of customers during cost-of-living crises by providing credit alternatives and sustainable solutions for energy transition.
The bank takes responsibility in supporting the long-term financial wellbeing of customers and building lasting relationships based on trust.
The bank balances digitalisation and personalised engagement, investing in money management tools to coach customers in achieving their financial goals, and providing support through both good and bad times.
Emilie is known for her expertise in driving digital engagement services and tools to deliver top-quality customer experiences. With almost 20 years of experience at the BNP Paribas Group, Emilie's focus is on supporting customers through tailored tools and services.
In this interview, we get Emilie’s tale on the role of money management tools in supporting customers during tough economic times.
How does the current macroeconomic uncertainty drive business decisions?
We see the energy prices and inflation having a direct and significant impact on consumers and their daily budgets. For the last few months, the vast majority of our customers have changed and adapted their consumption habits – and we believe this will go on for a while yet.
As a bank, we have a key role to play. We have the tools our customers need to manage their spending, and we can help them adjust to the current reality. It’s our role to support our customers and anticipate their needs in this cost-of-living crisis. We want to safeguard their trust by giving them the tools they need to adapt. In cases where customers need support, we’ve put specific alternatives for credit in place.
In our experience, both enterprises and individual customers are more invested in finding sustainable alternatives to the energy crisis than before the current situation. This reinforces our role and our responsibility to support them in that transition, both in terms of credit and mobility. In short, the ongoing macroeconomic situation drives business decisions as it’s our role to support and anticipate our customers’ needs in the current climate.
What is the bank's responsibility in supporting the financial well-being of households?
Whatever the situation, our ambition is to be our customers’ trusted companion – by supporting them short term as well as long term. We want to safeguard our customers’ trust in us by supporting them now and in the future – regardless of the macroeconomic circumstances.
After all, financial wellbeing is about more than what’s going on today, looking at the longer-term impact is equally important. That’s how we build lasting relationships with our customers: we have their best interests at heart, and we take our responsibility to protect them seriously. As a bank, we are best suited to help them make financially sustainable decisions, looking at both their short and long-term financial wellbeing.
How does BNP Paribas Fortis work with consumer engagement?
For us, it’s about finding the right balance between digitalising parts of our services to make our customers’ lives easier, but also understanding what they need to achieve their life goals. Balancing speed, agility and a deep understanding of the impact of their financial decisions is key.
‘As a bank, we have a key role to play: to support our customers and anticipate their needs in this cost-of-living crisis. We want to safeguard their trust by giving them the tools they need to adapt.’
Additionally, we want to offer our customers different ways of engaging with us. Some customers prefer digital tools and experiences while some remain preferential to the face-to-face approach. We want the trust generated from face-to-face interactions to carry over into our digital services, so that we can adapt and offer whatever services our customers prefer. It’s a delicate balance between optimising services to offer fast and streamlined experiences while taking the time to personalise and tailor our customer interactions.
But in the end, we invested in money management tools long before the skyrocketing inflation because we wanted to coach our customers and help them reach their financial goals. Of course it’s our responsibility to support vulnerable customers through difficult times, but our responsibility goes beyond that. While we should continue to offer tools that allow people to anticipate their financial situation and take steps to improve it, we don’t do it simply because we’re in a crisis. As their bank, we want to support our customers through both good times and bad. And doing it with data and insights is just one of the many ways in which we aim to improve their financial wellbeing.
This interview was originally featured in Tink’s 2023 research report, ‘Banking is getting personal’.
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