What Footwear Companies Can Learn From this Bank’s Digital Overhaul

First there was fintech. Now there are financial institutions going completely digital and embracing open banking systems.

Hungary’s MKB Bank — one of the country’s largest — recently revamped its entire tech system. Notably, it went fully digital with the Oracle Flexcube banking solution, an Oracle spokesman revealed.

“It is not every day that a historically conservative medium-sized player commits its resources to modernizing its systems, changing its culture and taking a leap towards digitalization,” said Ádám Balog, CEO of MKB Bank.

But the bank’s transformation may prove to be key.

According to the spokesman, MKB Bank’s move will allow the institution to “reduce its go-to-market time for new services such as corporate and retail lending, as well as digital-only services, and to manage customer requests more quickly and easily.”

Brand and retailers that make up the shoe ecosystem — especially ones rooted in legacy business models and technology frameworks — might want to take note. Experts, after all, agree that the shift to digital for all industries is critical.

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“Banks still have some catching up to do when it comes to serving customers. It’s time to stop resisting change and develop a model based on the way people want to interact with banking services,” said Mark Hetényi, chief digital, retail and strategy officer at MKB Bank. “This starts with a robust digital offering.”

Taking a look at the state of the footwear industry, the parallel is more than obvious.

As CBX Software SVP Eric Linxwiler recently told FN, “We do see a shift in thinking over the last couple years as retail technology-focused giants such as Amazon and Walmart aggressively lead the pack in most categories,” he said, “and it is forcing others to follow suit or become an afterthought.”

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