TEHRAN – Iran’s national digital banking document has been drafted, the deputy economy minister for banking and insurance, Abbas Memarnejad, said during a Post Bank meeting in Tehran.

“Today, the world focuses on digital banking rather than electronic banking and the document is based on smart economy,” he noted, IRNA reported on Wednesday.

Digital banking is part of the broader context for the move to online banking, where banking services are delivered over the internet, he explained.

“There is no banking system but a banking ecosystem, which is possible through emerging technologies.”

Fintechs, startups and regulatory companies are the members of these banking ecosystem, he explained.

“In addition to new technologies, the new processing technologies also considered in digital banking.”

“We urged banks to announce their digital transformation mapping road according to which, we assess their services afterward,” he said.

The Iranian banks should provide their business plans according to digital banking system and provide services on smart phones, he added.

Digital transformation possible through banking, insurance

The digital transformation in businesses would be possible through banking and insurance systems, the information and communication technology (ICT) minister announced during the meeting.

Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said that the banks should invest in venture capitals (VC), which is very important in development of startup ecosystem and digital transformation.

The insurance companies should use the capacity of startups for their services.

“The insurance companies can provide different ranges of services to different startups which has different types of members,” he said.

According to fivedegrees.com, digital banking contains a full transformation to a digital environment — frontend and backend and anything in between — for both customers and employees. Digital banking relies on big data, analytics and embracing all new technologies to improve the customer’s experience. You will only be considered a digital bank if you have digitized all the functions you have — from product development to customer service.

SB/MG