MyBankersOnline: Tapping the 85% Without Access to Banks

After four years as a relationship manager with Standard Chartered Bank, Saad Niaz dove into digital to capture the lead generation market and tap into bridging the knowledge gap that impedes the purchase cycle of financial products. We were skeptical of the growth and sought an update.

What are the future implications of the technology you are developing? Have you considered that it could have negative consequences for some people? How would you deal with that?
To understand our technology, it is important to understand our ideology. We, at MyBankersOnline, feel that Pakistan’s population base is divided in three segments:

• Fully Banked Segment: 3% of our population
• Marginally Banked Segment: 12% of our population
• Untapped Segment: 85% of our population

Our solution for each segment is as follows:

Fully Banked Population: Using the digital space to compare available banking services, the fully banked segment can gain further insight to Pakistan’s banking palette, thereby enabling smarter and more efficient decisions regarding their financial requirements. In line with foreign economies, the shift to digital comparison of banking products is an inevitable change within the fully-banked population.

Marginally Banked Population: The crux of Pakistan’s middle income class – this segment requires comprehensive literature on banking products, their benefits to an individual and business’s financial health, and the importance of financial inclusion to the economy. This segment can be reached through the use of informative articles and content circulated through social media platforms and mobile phones.

Untapped Population: The major chunk of Pakistan’s population is unaware of the banking segment, and further skeptical of parking their wealth with financial institutions or availing lending facilities. Root level training sessions across the country conducted for population segments comprising of grass-root entrepreneurs to micro-enterprises and their employee bases can result in dissemination of the importance of financial inclusion.

We understand that several banks are not keen on getting their products compared; our model tends to highlight those banks which are charging consumers higher, or offering lower returns on savings in the Pakistani market. Additionally, the untapped segment has yet to be tapped because the banking sector is unable to monetize such account holders effectively, thereby reducing their priority in banking sales.

The existing banking industry is heavily reliant on relationship-based/product push sales. We aspire to change this behavior to a customer-centric approach where each individual has basic financial literacy and access to all options before making his decision. It is an uphill task – banks will be resilient to such change – however we feel it is inevitable. With the advent of 3G-4G in Pakistan, the ‘bank’ race towards digital presence has already begun. In addition, given the right guidance, the untapped segment of our population will also start using banking products effectively, thereby increasing their value to the industry and economy as a whole.
Who is your biggest competitor and how are you beating them (differentiating)?
Initially we had no competitor. When MyBankersOnline was launched in 2012, we were pioneers in the market. Our only competitor Comparebanks launched its website in January, 2015.

While MyBankersOnline compares all banking products in Pakistan, its niche lies in the guidance provided to its visitor base – this is in form of personal finance tips and guidance, video messages, articles on debt management and optimization of savings etc. Because our team comprises of ex-bankers, it is easier for us to relate to a customer’s needs, understand banking jargon, and spell out financial tips in simple language.

Our initiative for financial literacy also differentiates us from our competitor. Our scope is not restricted to the digital segment – we are actively conducting financial literacy trainings in under-developed areas of Karachi; so far the response has been phenomenal. The appetite for banking knowledge is commendable; this entire segment comprises of our untapped population.

Which conversion metrics do you use to measure success?
Our aim is to increase the financial inclusion rate; thereby the conversion metric used is the number of referrals generated for the banking sector – be it through our digital platform or ground-training modules.

What was your first (code/product) ship like – and what was the same or different compared to your most recent?
Our first build was very basic; we were merely listing the banking products and displaying articles in their raw form – no creative visuals were used. We revamped our interface to its current state in April 2014. We added in greater filtering capability for the product listings and further bifurcation for articles on personal finance. As we speak, our latest build for 2015 is being uploaded.  It will be live by May 15th. This will include greater accessibility for visitors, comprehensive comparison tools and personalized user options to use MyBankersOnline website to its fullest potential. We are also adding in insurance products in our comparison palette.

What’s the best question about your company or the market asked of you in the last 30 days by an investor and customer?
Investor Question: Are banks ready for this paradigm shift? Our response is that banks were not ready till last year. It was after the government started tightening their risk-free earnings that they shifted focus back to the consumer sector. Digital presence was also missing; now banks have digital marketing teams working full time on increasing their footprint online.