Existing Customer Hub
The future of banking is changing and KBC is responding fast as we lead the way as Ireland’s digital-first bank.
We are continuing on our journey to build a Bank for the future, pioneering innovative ways to make banking easier and better for our customers. We are delighted to have welcomed 79,000 new customer accounts to KBC in 2018.
Growing our product range and creating long term value for our customers
During the year we added a range of new features to the KBC app, making it even easier for our customers to begin using and benefitting from features that no other bank in Ireland can offer.
These new features included the ability to get an Instant Credit Card, Digital Personal Loan and a new, first to market Lost/Stolen Instant Card Replacement service, all experienced by customers through a market-leading user interface and experience on our app.
We continued to expand our product offering with the launch of KBC Business Banking in 2018, a banking service specifically designed for professionals and micro-SMEs in Ireland, which is part of our commitment to supporting the local Irish economy.
We reduced our 1, 2, 3 and 5-year fixed mortgage rates while maintaining our market leading 10-year fixed mortgage rates. These new rates provide further choice for a broader range of consumers with many customers now choosing fixed rates that provide even greater value and certainty over the long term.
Banking at your fingertips
As a society, we’re rapidly moving towards digital tap and go payments, using our watches, fitness trackers and smart phones to do everything from pay for a coffee to apply for a personal loan.
This year we added Garmin Pay™ to our suite of contactless ‘Tap & Go’ payment options making KBC the only bank in Ireland to offer digital wallets from four of the world’s leading technology companies; Apple Pay™, Google Pay™, Fitbit Pay™ and now Garmin Pay™.
These tap and pay partnerships support our ambition to transform banking in response to customer demand for easy, secure, digitally-led solutions. Furthermore, they allow our customers to pair their financial wellbeing with their fitness lifestyle – which is a perfect synergy with our commitment to positive health and wellbeing.
Health and Wellbeing
At KBC we understand how important wellbeing is to our customers and the communities we live and work in. We also believe that we have an active role to play in helping people access wellbeing initiatives.
As part of this commitment we were thrilled to announce our sponsorship of the KBC Dublin Marathon. Driven by an ambition to put our customers’ needs first and deliver experiences to match, our partnership with the marathon is for a three-year tenure including the 40th anniversary of the race.
The Dublin Marathon has enjoyed huge success and developed into one of the best race experiences in the world for competitors and supporters alike. We look forward to enhancing those experiences over the coming years.
We also continued our association with Wellfest, Ireland’s largest health and wellbeing event. This year the event was bigger and better than ever with more than 5,000 people attending each day. We also introduced WellGood, a free 30-day online programme offering helpful tips for food, mind and body in a bid to improve physical and mental health.
Doing Different
We believe in doing different across everything we do, which is why our sustainability programme is about helping our customers, employees and communities make a positive contribution to our society.
In recognition of these efforts we were delighted to be re-certified by Business In The Community (BITC) with the Business Working Responsibly
Mark. This is a significant achievement as the Mark is Ireland’s only independently audited standard for CSR and Sustainability.
It is an extensive and thorough process that looks at our policies, practices and performance across all pillars of sustainability: workplace, marketplace, environment, community and governance. The audit is carried out independently by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI).
We were delighted to continue our charity partnership with the Alzheimer Society of Ireland throughout 2018. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland works across the country in the heart of local communities providing dementia specific services and supports and advocating for the rights and needs of all people living with dementia and their carers. Our employees helped us fundraise over €130,000 to support these causes.