From mindset transformation to fintech ecosystem: Ameriabank showcases digital solutions at 4Future Banking
YEREVAN, September 11. /ARKA/. Ameriabank presented its technological solutions and customer experience services at the Fifth International 4Future Banking Conference held in Yerevan.
Transformation of Thinking
"Modern technologies have already brought our users into the digital environment where their daily lives, including banking, should take place," said Shavarsh Voskanyan, Head of IT Support at Ameriabank, in response to a question from ARKA.
According to him, digital transformation is an important, yet lengthy process, the main difficulty of which lies in the logic of change.
"The most difficult and important thing is the transformation of people's thinking, which is where digital transformation begins. Our users experienced a transformation in their thinking when they transitioned to a digital environment, and we also had to go through this to provide digital products," he explained.
Voskanyan noted that Ameriabank has successfully achieved its digital transformation goal.
"The goal is to have digital product teams that create digital products. The team must be able to function independently as a single entity, set goals, and deliver solutions, without relying on, for example, a third party for their creation," he explained.
He also emphasized the importance of cross-functional collaboration, emphasizing that Ameriabank has already established effective cooperation between teams that remain independent but also interact with each other and ensure the functioning of the entire value chain.
Creating the Fintech Ecosystem of Tomorrow
Helen Danielyan, Head of Tribe for Customer Experience Management and Channel Integration at Ameriabank, reported that since 2021, Ameriabank has been implementing the Between contact center program for receiving incoming calls from clients and making outgoing calls. According to her, the automation of client communications has been developing quite actively in recent years.
"In particular, we implemented an IVR service that allows customers to independently perform certain operations and receive answers to their questions during an incoming call. For example, they can call and check their account balance without speaking directly to an operator; or block a card if a problem arises. These actions can be performed 24/7, without operator intervention," she explained.
Danielyan noted that the Between system is integrated with many services, ensuring customers receive high-quality service through automatic redirection to the appropriate specialist.
"The quality of service we provide to customers through the contact center is enhanced because they are served not by an operator with general information, but by an employee who specializes in their specific problem and segment," she said.
She estimates that this was a very important change, implemented about two years ago, which has been positively received, including by customers. Specifically, the number of calls has increased by 30% compared to last year, with 700 of the 5,000 calls being handled fully automated.
Speaking about other innovations, Danielyan reported that Ameriabank has also implemented a customer identification service using voice recognition and AI solutions. According to her, identification using this method takes just a few seconds.
"Ameriabank was the first to transition to 24/7 service many years ago. Our customer satisfaction rate is 75%. This indicates that, overall, our customers are satisfied with our contact center, our service staff, and our existing solutions," she emphasized.
As previously reported by Ameriabank's Director of Retail Banking, Arman Barseghyan, the bank's client base has exceeded 900,000, with the goal of reaching 1 million by the end of 2026. Over the past five years, Ameriabank's client base has grown at an average rate of 23.41%, doubling in the past two years. Furthermore, over the past five years, the number of active users in the bank's digital sphere has grown by an average of 55.81% monthly.
Between: Between Clients and Businesses
As Team Solutions Director Tatevik Avakyan explained, Between was developed by Armenian specialists in 2020 and launched under the name "Zangezur."
"Over time, it evolved from a simple call center into a fully-fledged customer service contact center platform, encompassing much broader functionality and capabilities than simply receiving and answering calls. Therefore, a rebranding was necessary," she said.
According to Avakyan, Between, which connects clients and businesses, offers extensive opportunities for automating various internal business processes and integrating with other systems, ensuring that clients and businesses communicate through a single channel, regardless of the underlying solutions and infrastructure.
"The system has already been implemented in several Armenian banks, Team Telecom Armenia, and is also used by a number of government agencies as a hotline solution for citizen services," she said.
Avakyan also reported that the program is currently being implemented in Ireland.
About 4Future Banking
The 4Future Banking conference aims to connect traditional banking institutions with cutting-edge financial technologies. Organized by EarlyOne, the 4Future Banking 2026 program includes discussions on AI, Open Banking, end-to-end automation, data analytics, digital transformation, and security.
According to Gevorg Safaryan, CEO of EarlyOne, the platform aims to attract foreign and Armenian banks and Armenian technology companies to share experiences and knowledge and better represent Armenia on international platforms. "We have guests from eight countries, including speakers from Germany, Romania, Moldova, Russia, and Georgia," he said.
The platform facilitates the acceleration of new technologies in banking, knowledge transfer between industry veterans and newcomers, and the creation of an ecosystem that combines banking skills with breakthrough innovations.
