In a highly competitive retail banking sector, banks try to keep up with growing demand for mobile solutions.

In an interview to Communicate Magazine, November 2014 issue, Georges Aouad, Director, Head of Retail and Branch Division spoke about how banks are trying to keep up with growing demand for mobile solutions Over the years, retail banks around the world have been working on making personal banking more convenient and customer friendly through the introduction of innovative services and offerings: sprawling branch networks, innovative credit cards, enhanced automatic teller machines, online banking solutions, etc. Today, banks reach another evolution stage with mobile banking; aware that smartphones and tablets are increasingly at the center of any (especially young) consumer’s decision-making process – including financial ones – banks around the world still have to set up the right strategy for their mobile services. As of 2011, Lebanese banks have joined the fray and started offering mobile banking services one after the other, each developing their own mobile application and updating it according to the ever-changing mobile-savvy consumers’ behaviors and needs.

Bank of Beirut (BoB) launched its mobile app iMobile in 2012, in collaboration with Lebanese mobile development company, Turnkey. “The prevailing popularity of the mobile channel in both local and global markets was the main drive for conceptualizing the app, especially with today’s digitally immersed millennial generation. We asked the developer for a clean and appealing design, a user-friendly interface available for Android and iPhone, with cutting-edge technological endorsement, high security and easy navigation to perform transactions. iMobile comprises all banking online services and features that are in line with the Central Bank’s applicable laws. The application allows customers to perform various operations through their mobiles, such as balance checking, inter-account transfers, statement of account inquiry, cheque book request and more. Another important feature of the iMobile application is the geographical data locator displaying all Bank of Beirut branches and ATMs’ locations on the map. Most importantly, the iMobile app is built on an enhanced security architecture that safeguards data and prevents any misuse of both the physical data and the application,” says director – head of retail and branch division at Bank of Beirut, Georges Aouad.

“Mobile is constantly evolving, and that means we need to evolve with it. A continuous improvement process was put in place since the launch of our iMobile application. We mainly count on our customers’ feedback and use best practices. Change feasibilities are assessed based on market needs and effectiveness prior to imple¬mentation,” says BoB’s Aouad, who gives, as an example, the latest version of BoB’s app, which includes a Live Chat Support feature, allowing customers to instantly speak with a representa¬tive from the bank. –

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