New York-based Citigroup Inc., (NYSE:C)an American multinational investment bank and financial services corporation, has been named the “World’s Best Digital Bank” by Global Finance Magazine.
Notably, this is the 18th consecutive year that Citi has been ranked as the best digital bank worldwide by the magazine.
According to a press release, Citi was chosen from around 300 banks throughout the world, which were assessed “against a wide range of criteria focused on strategy, features and functionality in the online and mobile channels.”
As mentioned in the announcement, the selection criteria for the award included:
- “strength of strategy” for attracting and providing services to online clients,
- success in getting customers to use digital products, ‘
- growth of online client base,
- range of products and services,
- “evidence of tangible benefits” gained from digital projects,
- website design and functionality
Naveed Sultan, global head of Treasury and Trade Solutions at Citi, stated:
“Ever-evolving digital technologies are drivers of the digital economy, bringing the players within the financial ecosystem closer together. As our clients’ needs and expectations are shifting in response, it is imperative that Citi — as their banking partner – continues to invest in innovation and leverage technologies to keep providing them with a better client experience.”
Sultan added:
“Winning this year’s World’s Best Digital Bank Award is a tremendous testimony of our efforts to remain relevant to our clients and support their objectives in this digital economy.”
Joseph Giarraputo, president and publisher at Global Finance Magazine, noted:
“Continued commitment to providing customers with flexibility and control across all channels, in such a way that users can adopt, customize and engage with ease, regardless of size and location, helped Citi win a multitude of awards, including the Overall Best Digital Bank 2019 and Global Best Corporate/Institutional Digital Bank Award.”
Tapodyuti Bose, global head of Digital Channels and Data, Treasury and Trade Solutions, Citi, remarked:
“This award is an incredible endorsement of Citi’s efforts in driving innovation and improving the client experience,” “Over the last year, we have focused on simplifying our digital solutions, such as CitiDirect BE and CitiConnect, for our clients as well as enhancing the functionalities to support our clients.”
As explained in the release, CitiDirect BE® and CitiConnect® are a part of Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions’ omnichannel digital banking product suite. CitiDirect BE® serves as an institutional digital banking platform, which consists of CitiDirect BE® online and CitiDirect BE® Mobile.
CitiConnect® is Citi’s suite of “institutional connectivity options,” which include CitiConnect® API and CitiConnect® API Developer Portal. As mentioned in the release, significant improvements have been made to CitiDirect BE and CitiConnect, in order to provide more value to customers, including ease of use, real-time banking features, enhanced online security, key data insights and artificial intelligence (AI).