2023 Integrated Report

At a time of intense digital transformation, BNP Paribas is adapting to the new uses of its clients without losing sight of an essential prerequisite: continuity of service. Our bank must operate daily with the highest level of quality, efficiency and security, and continue to rely on technological developments to provide our customers with a simple and fluid experience while re-imagining services, both financial and beyond.

Meeting several major challenges

Driven by this ambition, we continuously anticipate the needs of our clients and those of our teams. We’re investing in technology to address several major challenges: data security in the face of cyberattacks; continuous improvement of customer experience; optimisation of our operational performance; adaptation of our employees’ skills; and digital sobriety. To this end, we’re focusing our investments in five areas:

• the cloud, to develop the secure use of this technology;
• data, to create value for our clients, partners and employees;
• the roll-out of an IT Marketplace and APIs⁽¹⁾ to create an open information system;
• artificial intelligence (AI), to solve use cases that meet the concrete needs of our clients and teams;
• technology watch and active collaboration with the fintech ecosystem, to prepare for the future.

In general, innovation must be useful to our clients and employees, while considering the cost of ownership and maintenance of the technologies on which it is based. These technologies are also a lever to optimise our processes so that we can meet more stringent regulatory requirements on time and at required standards.

Enhancing and streamlining our clients’ experience

We’re pursuing our process to continuously improve the digital experience and provide our clients with ever simpler, smoother and safer interactions. This is a process that complements the customised support provided by their banking advisors, to whom they remain highly loyal. We invest in our IT infrastructure to simultaneously improve efficiency and security. For example, we’re accelerating the roll-out of our hybrid cloud, which combines speed and flexibility of use with data protection. We’re developing a growing collection of 900 APIs⁽¹⁾, which already manage 700 million transactions per month. Our corporate clients also remain at the forefront of our minds and, to better serve them, we’re continuously improving the efficiency of our solutions by investing in robust pan-European digital platforms, such as Centric, which meets all their banking needs: cash management, fixed-income products, etc. Thanks to these platforms, our business lines provide a complete portfolio of relevant and scalable solutions, while developing synergies to serve our clients.

Lastly, we cannot talk about innovation to serve our clients without mentioning payment methods, for which we are providing new services, such as the FLOA application, which allows them to pay in several instalments, before, during or after a purchase.

In 2023, we also continued to strengthen our range of services around mobility, notably through the creation of a new dedicated brand, BNP Paribas Mobility, which brings together the expertise and know-how of the Group’s specialised businesses in this field.