Banca di Asti - A Branch Transformation Success Story

Cassa di Risparmio di Asti (also known as Banca di Asti) is an Italian savings bank based in Asti, Piedmont. With 137 branches, it serves the Piedmont and Lombardy regions and is expanding rapidly in the Veneto and Liguria regions. The continuous evolution of the financial market constantly sets new challenges for financial institutions such as Banca di Asti, pushing them to improve services, meet or exceed customer expectations, and optimise operational costs.

The Challenge

In 2015, Banca di Asti launched its Branch Transformation project with the goal of identifying key factors for evolving its branch model and service model. The bank analysed the most successful Branch Transformation projects in Europe and visited innovative branches to gain further insights.

Banca di Asti identified three different branch models based on size, location, and clientele. It determined that cross-selling activity needed improvement and decided to invest in empowering its consultant profiles.

Automation was another key focus area. The bank aimed to expand its self-service channels and support customers in transitioning to automated tools.

An advanced queue management system was required to alleviate the problem of long waiting times that occurred unexpectedly at counters and to support consultancy activities. Many customers were not using in-branch self-service machines, while the bank wanted staff to focus more on value-added services rather than cash-desk payment transactions.

The bank’s top management also required tangible results from the Branch Transformation project in order to assess whether the new models were performing as expected. Aggregating data on changes in customer behaviour and staff performance was therefore critical.

The bank wanted to understand whether customers were using self-service machines instead of visiting the cash desk, how many staff members were required for specific activities, and how agents were transitioning from cash and payment-related duties to sales roles.

This information was necessary to adjust the transformation strategies designed to improve both branch operations and service delivery models.

Banking customer using self-service kiosk in modern banking environment.

Solution

Banca di Asti surveyed the market to find a software solution that was capable of supporting their Branch Transformation goals. The Q-Flow platform was their solution of choice that would extend and complement their existing CRM’s functionalities. Q-Flow was selected based on the following features and benefits the bank could implement:

Seamless integration

Integration with the bank’s existing information systems, enabling the bank to extend functionalities to support both agents and customers.

Customer engagement tools

Direct customer engagement tools via Q-Flow Connect for generating customer personalized brochures, two-way reminders, and agent sales tips.

Digital signage

Digital signage solutions that provide customers with information about their position in line, and include rich-media content options for promoting the bank’s added value services.

Customer-centric workflow engine with Q-Flow BPM

Routing customers per their needs to an agent with the matching skills or to the shortest lines, and initiating follow-up actions for agents as part of the customer workflow.

Kiosk check-in processes

Check-ins tailored to the bank’s customer-centric workflow, which includes customer identification and personalized offered services.

Automated notifications

Real-time alerts and event-driven notifications provide branch managers with service-level alerts to enable better service and improve customer satisfaction.

Advanced reports

Statistical reports generate options for branch managers that enable tracking staff performance and assessing customer responses and satisfaction.

Digital signage display used in Banca di Asti branches to manage customer flow and communicate service information.

The Results

Q-Flow played a major role in increasing the use of ATMs and kiosks for self-service transactions by prioritising cardholders. Q-Flow also supported an effective marketing campaign implemented throughout the migration process.

Further Deployment

The use of Q-Flow is gradually expanding across the organisation and reaching even the smallest branches. Banca di Asti is currently reviewing kiosk workflows and digital signage content to strengthen the relationship between customers and their personal banking agents. The bank is running a pilot kiosk that displays agents’ photos on the user interface and prints the selected agent’s contact details on the service ticket.

The bank is also testing a digital branch concept, where a group of online agents remotely supports customers with various banking activities, such as internet banking transactions and scheduling appointments for physical branches. These agents also manage outbound promotional campaigns.

Looking ahead, the bank expects Q-Flow to become even more deeply integrated with its internal information systems, further simplifying daily operations and enhancing overall customer satisfaction.