Banks are going digital, but Albanians are chasing cash/ BoA survey: Attracting young people and improving services increases investments in FinTech
Most banks in Albania have made significant steps towards their digital transformation.
The findings of the Digitalization Survey conducted in 2024 show that 10 banks in particular, collectively representing 93.39% of total assets in the banking sector, have established dedicated digital transformation departments or specialized teams tasked with implementing and managing FinTech projects. These departments facilitate the adoption of new technologies.
In contrast, only one bank, accounting for 6.60% of the sector's assets, reported the lack of a digital transformation structure.
But what are the main reasons that drive banks to invest in FinTech? Seven banks, representing 63.4% of total assets, strongly agreed that changing customer preferences, especially the need to attract younger generations, was a key reason to invest in FinTech.
The second reason was the necessity of incorporating new technologies to improve financial services. This includes initiatives such as improving mobile banking functionalities, deploying AI-based solutions for customer service, and optimizing internal operations through automation.
What are the challenges that banks face when implementing digital transformation?
A notable challenge is the low digital activity of customers, due to the high preference for cash transactions by the population. Another important obstacle is the low technological skills of the population. Relying on traditional bank customers rather than the digitally savvy new generation highlights the urgent need for public digital education initiatives.
Among the main technologies implemented by Albanian banks is “mobile banking”. Subsequently, Albanian banks have decided to expand their technological progress with several FinTech projects. Digital identity technology, already in use, is expected to have further development followed by digital wallets and artificial intelligence.
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