Page 1 of 2

Anke Bridge, Credit Suisse's digital boss in Switzerland, revealed several initiatives in recent months. Now, her team is rolling out three new offerings at once, she tells finews.asia.

Since she was named digital boss of Credit Suisse Switzerland in December, Anke Bridge has been the subject of intense scrutiny in Zurich and further afield. The 37-year-old banker has infused start-up spirit into the bank and personifies Credit Suisse's digital arms race.

It is a role which the German-Swiss dual citizen quickly made her own. She publicly revealedseveral pipeline products (in German) – raising high expectations that she and her team would have to meet. Now, she appears to be delivering. 

Credit Suisse will roll out three new offerings in coming weeks, Bridge told finews.com. «2017 is an important year for the digitization of the Swiss universal bank,» she said. 

Her team is working on the digital future and solutions for the mid- and long-term, she said. «On the other hand, we will be introducing three new innovations in the coming four weeks which are targeted to a broad segment of our clientele.»

1. Eyeing Cash

Credit Suisse has already soft-launched Direct Business, an online platform for Swiss corporate clients. The offering is aimed at firms of any size, Bridge said, from one-person shops to major conglomerates. One feature is multi-banking, which tracks all a firm's cash positions by various banks – a function that Bridge says hasn't existed until now.

The bank also prides itself on a tool which manages leasing contracts online. Bridge's team has added several existing features including «balance optimizer,» which manages Swiss franc positions and automatically transfers them to other accounts in order to avoid charges on franc deposits imposed by Switzerland's central bank. The corporate clients' start page can be individually tailored by widget, allowing users to pinpoint their preferred features.

2. Boarding in 15 Minutes

From June, it will take a mere 15 minutes to become a Credit Suisse client, Bridge promises. Digital, paperless and without changing media. A new self-onboarding tool developed in cooperation with Appway will enable this. The opening of the client relationship online will be accompanied by a Swisscom call center video channel.

Bridge is seeking a link between Credit Suisse's digital channel and its existing offering. New clients will be offered a digital «banking starter kit»: when they open an account, they can order a Bonviva savings and cash account as well as credit and debit cards.

In a further step, Credit Suisse wants to tie in its Credit Suisse Invest services into on-boarding, and the bank is working on a comparable process for bringing corporate clients on board, Bridge said.

3. Birthday Makeover

In July, the Credit Suisse's online banking tool in Switzerland will get a makeover, coinciding with its 20th birthday. Online and mobile banking are converging: the online banking will have a stronger mobile look and feel, Bridge said: «We want to simplify our users' lives with the overhaul.»

In payments, for example, the number of clicks needed will be reduced from nine to one and a Google search-based payments assistance will be rolled out, she said. Further improvements include an individually-tailored start page, a simplified portfolio overview and foreign exchange spot trading.

Robots and Artificial Intelligence

The digital team of Credit Suisse's Swiss bank is looking forward: «Towards 2018, we'll be looking at topics like artificial intelligence, machine learning and robo-advisory,» Bridge said.