Alpian, a digital private bank launched last year, has been named as one of Switzerland’s trailblazers in digital customer experiences and digitalization efforts, joining the ranks of digital innovators and pioneers in the Swiss retail banking industry such as Vontobel, Julius Bar and Pictet, a new study by Colombus Consulting, a French boutique consulting firm, shows.

The Digital Index and Performance study, an annual analysis that looks at digitalization in Swiss retail banking, has revealed its 2023 ranking of the country’s best performing banks and neobanks in digitalization and customer experience enhancement efforts.

The ranking, which takes into consideration 50 metrics across web, mobile, marketing, and social media categories to gauge Swiss banks’ digital presence and performance, put Alpian at the 4^th place in this year’s ranking, a remarkable debut that’s supported by the digital bank’s large media budgets, its well-positioned mobile app, as well as its well-tailored customer experiences on its website and through its content sharing platform i-vest.ch.

Looking deeper into Alpian’s key metrics, the report shows that the digital bank performed well in the web category, ranking 7^th nationally. The digital bank was recognized for the outstanding user experience (UX) it provides, as well as its fast and seamless digital onboarding process that takes just ten minutes.

Alpian was further praised for the clarity and transparency of its offers, with advertised fees and services included. The bank was also commended for i-vest.ch, an educational and content sharing platform it operates and on which it shares content produced by its advisors and other community members.

In the mobile app category, Alpian came in the 2^nd place this year, recognized for its apps’ good ratings, regular updates and wide range of functionalities.

The Alpian mobile app allows users to conduct typical banking transactions such as payments and foreign exchange but users can also use it to chat in real-time with a bank staff member and schedule in-app video calls with a Swiss-based wealth advisor.

Finally, in the digital marketing and social media categories, Alpian performed relatively well, recognized for its increased investments in social media presence and engagement, especially in LinkedIn, as well as in paid search, the report says.

Alpian’s Digital and Performance Index, Source: Digital Index and Performance of Swiss Private Banks, Colombus Consulting, June 2023

Alpian opened for business at the end of 2022, targeting the Swiss affluent with assets between CHF 100,000 to CHF 1 million. The bank offers private banking services and investment expertise through a hybrid model that combines machine and human intelligence. It strives to deliver the quality of service and expertise that’s normally reserved for those at traditional private bank.

Alpian mobile app, Source: Alpian.com

Vontobel tops ranking; digital marketing investments increase

The 2023 Digital Index and Performance ranked Vontobel, Julius Bar and Pictet at the top of list. These private banking and investment management firms surpassed their rivals and the Swiss average in terms of monthly web visits, average time spent by visitors, and average page load time of their websites, an indicators of their websites’ usability and performances as well as of client experience. They also ranked relatively high in digital marketing, leading the group in their search engine optimization (SEO), email and social media efforts, and social engagement on popular platforms, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Vontobel, in particular, stood out in the web, digital marketing and in mobile app categories. Julius Bar was the year’s leader in the social media index and performed well in the other three categories where it still remained in the top five. And Pictet outperformed its competitors in the web and mobile app categories, and showed relatively good results in the social media index. The bank, however, lagged behind in the digital marketing arena.

2023 Digital Index top 10 Swiss retail banks, Source: Digital Index and Performance of Swiss Private Banks, Colombus Consulting, June 2023

Findings of this year’s study revealed some noteworthy trends. Swiss private banks across the board are increasing their investments in digital marketing. The estimated total annual digital marketing budget increased by 61% this year compared with 2022, with a preponderance for paid search, in particular, and for some banks, social media.

All private bank websites attracted 7% more visits this year compared with 2022, though the audience is evolving significantly. The number of visits coming from social networks witnessed a drop in 2023 in favor of paid referencing, which increased notably to make up for 65% of traffic.

Distribution of the digital marketing budget and audience by channel, Source: Digital Index and Performance of Swiss Private Banks, Colombus Consulting, June 2023

This year, Swiss private banks continued to expand their product offerings, focusing on trading and cryptocurrency products in particular. Julius Bar is teaming up with SEBA Bank to launch crypto management and allow for the storage, trading and borrowing of digital assets. Similarly, Syz Group is partnering with Taurus to offer crypto custody and trading services.

Another trend outlined in the report is Swiss private banks’ increased focus on enhancing their mobile apps.Some of the new features that have been developed in recent months include app screen improvement, consolidated investment consultation, investment suggestions, push buttons for financial analysts’ publications, electronic signatures on documents and biometric authentication.

Featured image credit: Edited from freepik