A Data Analyst at Prudential Bank is urging bankers in the country to take conscious and deliberate steps to upskill themselves to embrace the fast-changing banking environment engineered by digital transformation.
David Gyasi Monney, an Analyst at the Bank’s Analytics and Data Solutions Unit of the Digital Transformation Department, said “the future is not something coming. It's already here. The only question is: are you ready? Future proof banking is here with us and around us and there is the urgent need for colleagues to upgrade their knowledge to remain relevant.”
Addressing a Bankers’ knowledge session in Accra on the future of banking, Mr. Monney intimated that evidence abounds to show that banking practices and needs have significantly shifted and as such banking staff who still think and act in, what he terms, ‘old school’ banking fashion will soon not have a place in the industry.
“Institutions such as the world-acclaimed Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFA Institute), Accounting, Auditing and Management firm, Deloitte, among others have conducted significant studies to show that current decisions and actions in the financial services space are shaped by the ongoing digital transformation in the sector” he said.
He gave practical examples of the experiences of bank staff who failed to act when the ‘tsunami’ began and lost out as a result, and others whose day-to-day activities are changing daily. “Mr. Asare was a super banker working magic with his golden pen at his prime. He lost out when computers arrived and he failed to upgrade.
“Ama, a Customer Service Representative, on the other hand, some few years ago worked by automating parts of her work using Excel worksheets to record the number of calls she receives on a weekly basis. Now she is a Data Analyst for the Digital Banking Unit of the same bank analyzing data to identify customer needs among others. Moral: The future of work is already happening quietly,” he added.
Mr. Monney identified the driving forces behind the change as: Digital Transformation which is integrating digital technology into all areas of banking operations, reshaping how banks operate internally and engage with customers, modernizing legacy systems leading to changes in job roles, workflows, and required skills; Artificial Intelligence & Automation which is streamlining repetitive and rules-based tasks—such as loan processing, fraud detection, and customer service via chatbots; advanced analytics and machine learning being used for decision-making and risk assessment, among others.
“Changing customer expectations (24/7, Mobile-first) means modern customers expect seamless, real-time banking experiences accessible anytime, anywhere—especially via mobile devices. This has raised the bar for service delivery, user experience design, and digital innovation among others. Global Competition from Fintechs and neobanks are offering innovative and low-cost banking alternatives, pushing traditional banks to innovate or risk losing market share. This also calls for a heightened need for strategic thinking and product innovation”, he noted.
Mr. Monney said the changes do not affect people in IT departments alone but everyone irrespective of their roles in the financial services sector. “Examples abound - all departments and branches are becoming digital departments. Branches using Branch Awareness Portals to track customers not signed on to various e-products; Credit Teams using Oracle Analytics dashboards to track trends; HR colleagues using data to predict and budget for staff; Management using data to guide high-level decision making. The list goes on”, he added.
He shared with the audience platforms to enable staff to upgrade their skills and knowledge to be effective and efficient in this future-proof era.