The article below is a translation of an article that appeared in the ICT Journal in 2019, about the highly customized online mortgage platform I had the chance to build for CA next bank (see my project article on this subject).
You have just taken over the management of Crédit Agricole next bank in Switzerland. You have moved into new premises and are launching an online mortgage offer. What are your development ambitions in this already busy market?
Thibault Reversé, Chief Executive Officer of Crédit Agricole next bank:
We have been in Switzerland for about 20 years, and for the past ten years we have had a complete offering for local clients. We have just reached 50,000 clients and we are aiming to double that number by 2023. This is why we are investing in our various channels, in particular in new premises, in the renovation of our branches and in digital technology to meet new customer expectations. We already offer online relationship opening and, for a few months now, an online mortgage solution. We are fortunate to be a small structure, a sort of banking start-up, which allows us to move quickly and not wait years to respond to a need.
Let’s talk about this online mortgage offer. Why this particular project?
Emmanuel Favrat, Project Manager, Crédit Agricole next bank:
We surveyed our branches about their customers’ relationship with digital tools. They told us that mortgage customers often did online simulations before coming to them, and some even brought their laptops to their branch appointments. Based on this, we created several personas and validated the project of an online tool, starting with the acquisition of a primary residence in Switzerland. The idea being to test what is possible before developing other offers. The project started in the fall of 2017. A few months later, we launched a call for tender and decided to work with SQLI after validating their skills during the proof-of-concept.
Why did you choose to use a third-party company instead of your IT department?
Thibault Reversé, Crédit Agricole next bank:
First, because it’s more of a business project than an IT project. And we wanted to rely on a service provider with skills in the field and flexibility to gain speed and efficiency. The banking world is sometimes a bit rigid and unfamiliar with the test & learn approach. It was also relatively simple because the project does not touch the core of the system nor the customer data.
How did the project go? How did you collaborate?
Michael Barbey, Technical Expert, SQLI Switzerland:
The expected functionalities were clear and we proposed solutions for the elements that posed a risk or difficulty. For example, we proposed an import/export system allowing Crédit Agricole next bank to integrate data from the online process without requiring any real integration. Then, on the project itself, we worked in sprints. As soon as a feature was available, we made it available on a test server for quick feedback.
Emmanuel Favrat, Crédit Agricole next bank:
We also met every two weeks at SQLI to exchange, give feedback, sometimes make adjustments and decide on the next sprints.
With the solution developed, what does the process look like for the customer looking for a mortgage offer online?
Thibault Reversé, Crédit Agricole next bank:
The resident who wants to buy a home will look for a mortgage rate online. At some point they will click on a link from Google or a partner site and land on our online simulation tool. After having validated that it is indeed a principal residence, we will ask him various questions to finally propose several offers. We want to differentiate ourselves by the customer experience we offer. Therefore, we want to avoid an overly tedious process, the goal being that the entire process takes no more than 20 minutes.
How does this translate technically?
Michael Barbey, SQLI Switzerland:
Instead of huge forms, we opted for an MCQ-oriented process instead of the classic questions requiring written answers. Each time we ask a client a question, we use their answers to determine the next questions, so that they don’t have to ask superfluous questions. Depending on the case, a customer will answer about a hundred questions instead of the 400 planned, all spread over ten pages. In total, this gives 650 million possible unique paths.
How do you deal with this complexity?
Michael Barbey, SQLI Switzerland:
We work with Symfony which allows us to create dynamic forms. Given the number of possibilities, it was impossible to define them by hand. So, in agreement with Crédit Agricole next bank, we developed an additional brick that has knowledge of the end-to-end process and is responsible for driving the system. This significantly simplifies the generation of forms. All the paths are in memory as a logical tree on the server side, and the loading of the pages at each click is much faster.
Do you access third-party systems during the process?
Michael Barbey, SQLI Switzerland:
Yes, we do query external systems via APIs at two points. Once for the real estate valuation with the Wüest Partner solution, and once at the end of the process with the Prologia decision support tool, which allows us to get an agreement in principle and make a proposal.
What happens if a user interrupts the process?
Emmanuel Favrat, Crédit Agricole next bank:
We create a login at the beginning and the customer can reconnect and resume his session during 30 days. They can start the process on their laptop on the train and continue it later on their PC, but also in a physical branch or on the phone with our online branch. Throughout the process, the customer is also invited to chat with our experts or to request a call back. To support the customer, the online agency staff have access to all stages of the process via a special interface. Our goal is to conclude a contract, not necessarily that the entire process is done online. Buying a home is often the project of a lifetime and it is natural that clients want to have direct contact with our advisors at some point.
At what points do clients tend to abandon the process?
Emmanuel Favrat, Crédit Agricole next bank:
The tool has been available for six months and 250 people have already used it. Some have completed the process online, others have completed it at the branch. Half of the users abandon the process at the beginning, at the moment of identification. Some leave in the middle, when we offer them different financing plans and a rate that they can customize according to maturity - an original feature compared to our competitors.
Thibault Reversé, Crédit Agricole next bank:
Our idea is to help the client build his financing plan rather than display a call rate.
Are there any improvements planned?
Emmanuel Favrat, Crédit Agricole next bank:
It is too early to make adjustments, but changes are already planned based on feedback from customers and the online branch. The tool is also continuously improved by SQLI, which automatically reports and corrects any bugs encountered. Once validated, the changes are pushed on our infrastructure hosted by Net4All.
What other digital innovations and developments are planned at Crédit Agricole next bank?
Thibault Reversé, Crédit Agricole next bank:
We are not the only bank to go digital. What is important to us is to offer a seamless customer relationship. Eventually, the customer must be able to carry out any operation on the channel of his choice. We already offer online access to our customers - a method that is well accepted by the market and one third of our new customers use this channel. With the online mortgage, we’re probably ahead of the curve, but we think that within two to three years we’ll have the adoption and be ready. We also offer an aggregator based on the DSP2 standard. It allows our cross-border customers to access their account with us and other accounts they hold in France - including with competing institutions - from a unified tool. As for our banking platform, we are also planning a major upgrade of our payment traffic with our partner Azqore to meet Swiss standards.