In a technology-driven world, where technology has become a powerful tool, Fin Tech organizations are flexing their muscles and minds to create and develop solutions that redefine convenience for their customers. Therefore, having new features rapidly deployed for customers to use may not be a new concept. However, what makes these new features, such as E-Withdrawal (transferring credit funds to an online account through the NTL app), valuable is the insight gained beyond the methods of creating and developing features, enabling efficient functionality, and driving significant growth through transactions performed via this feature.
It all started with a shared goal - to make accessing financial services easier and more convenient for our customers while helping them solve their problems. As Waraporn Jorapunchoo, Vice President of Business Development, and Chalita Kunvipusilkul, Vice President of Product Development, who are part of Ngern Tidlor’s E-Withdrawal project team, told us:
“Previously, we introduced the TIDLOR card, which made it more convenient for customers to withdraw credit funds through over 50,000 ATMs nationwide. However, some customers faced the challenge of losing their card or not having an ATM nearby. In addition, customers nowadays are increasingly comfortable with online money transfers through mobile banking, and sometimes they don't even want to withdraw their cash. Therefore, we saw the opportunity to enhance the NTL App by adding the E-Withdrawal feature, which could effectively address these needs.
Because now, customers can transfer credit funds directly into their bank accounts, and making payments through a QR code scanning, Every business has created platforms that cater to electronic transactions to meet customers' needs, allowing them to use funds immediately without wasting time at the ATM.
From a business perspective, it also reduces operating costs. This is because the cost of ATM withdrawals is higher compared to offering customers the option to transfer funds directly into their accounts.”
Background and Role of a Strong Team
The team that drives the E-Withdrawal project is representatives from related departments to work collaboratively in a Scrum framework. They divided the project into Sprints based on each team member's area of responsibility, before evaluating the results and making improvements at each stage. Viriyapa Tanarapcharoen, Assistant Vice President Operations Analyst, Arpar Sae-lim, Vice President Digital and Project Management, and Sakulrat Jakrarat, Senior Manager Customer Services-Social Media, told us about how the team was formed to work on the E-Withdrawal project:
“At Ngern Tidlor, we work in cross functional collaboration, where representatives from various departments come together to develop and drive the organization's initiatives. The three of us were members of the CX (Customer Experience) team before being assigned to work together in the E-Withdrawal project to provide support to several other teams such as the product development team, UX/UI team, and IT team.”
Within the team, there is a Product Owner for the NTL app, responsible for overseeing both the overall picture and the details of all the services within the app. This includes coordinating and supporting the development and testing processes, as well as collaborating with the IT team to ensure the smooth and seamless integration of the entire system before rolling out this feature on the app for customers to use.
In addition, there is a Project Leader who facilitates coordination among the related teams, ensuring that the project achieves its objectives. There is also a Product Owner of the Payment and Disbursement Platform, which uses technology to enhance the efficiency of fund transfers and payments to provide customers with convenience in conducting transactions through various channels of Ngern Tidlor at a cost-effective transaction rate per transaction.
Furthermore, there is a representative from the Customer Services team who serves as customer advocates throughout the development process. Their role is to ensure that the design truly caters to customer needs. Additionally, they actively listen to customer feedback and providing guidance on how to use the feature once it is launched on the app.
Embracing Challenges as Valuable Lessons.
Certainly, the journey of developing this feature is filled with challenges. One of the lessons the team encounter from the outset is the need to strike a balance between the requirements of all parties involved. This means addressing the crucial demand of making money transfers through the app convenient for customers with a capable system and positive user experience while leveraging existing resources without excessive allocation. This enables the business to fulfill its objectives in a cost-effective manner. As the team told us:
"Throughout the 11 months of working together on this project, our challenge was to balance the following expectations: 1) designing features that are user-friendly for customers, 2) equipping our back-end team with the tools to provide excellent customer support, and 3) delivering this service to customers as quickly as possible. However, because we shared the same goal and vision that it may not be effective to strive to achieve a 100% excellent feature that demanded a significant investment of time in building a new system or creating a new design, we were able to overcome these challenges successfully. We learned that in designing features, we should prioritize tasks by considering the sustainability of the system and the overall process, while other less critical aspects can be improved later. This is because we cannot truly know users' feedback until we allow them to try it themselves. Therefore, adopting this approach enables us to continuously develop our services.”
Apart from the challenges that stem from managing expectations, there was another unexpected hurdle that provided the team with valuable learning opportunities and the need to address it swiftly. It was to deal with scamming aimed at access funds from our customers' accounts, which were faced by all leading financial institutions.
"After only two weeks of launching this feature on the app, we started receiving reports from customers that there were unauthorized withdrawals from their accounts. Upon investigating, we discovered that these cases were due to customers falling victim to criminals. Despite having robust cybersecurity measures in place and designing the feature to allow customers to transfer funds only to their own bank accounts, we had not anticipated that hackers would be able to gain access to customers' mobile apps and initiate unauthorized transfers from their bank accounts.
The occurrence of such cases prompted us to adapt and find ways to better protect our customers more quickly. This involved various actions, such as improving communication to provide knowledge and guidance to customers, as well as reducing the transfer limits for each transaction to minimize potential losses in cases of fraudulent attempts. Additionally, we made further enhancements to other security measures to strengthen overall security”
Unexpected Results and Growth from the Opportunities Received
After the launch of the E-Withdrawal feature, it did not take long for transactions through this feature to skyrocket. Within the first two months of launch, the number of transactions exceeded the end-of-the-year target of 30% of all transactions made through this feature. More customers were conducting transactions through E-Withdrawal than anticipated, and the number continues to increase steadily. The team commented that:
"We’ve found that in addition to the group of customers who switched from ATM withdrawals to transferring funds through the app, there is another group of customers with revolving credit who did not request a card but opted to use the E-Withdrawal feature. This customer segment accounted for approximately 20%, fueling plans for continuous improving the E-Withdrawal. This will also reduce the workload at branches, allowing them to allocate more time to other tasks, while also saving customers' time by eliminating the need to travel to branches or ATMs, as well as reducing costs for both customers and the business.”
Besides fueling organization's growth by providing convenience to customers, the E-Withdrawal project also created opportunities for growth and learning through work experiences for everyone in the team. In this project, many team members have been entrusted with important decision-making roles, with management personnel serving as advisors. As Waraporn and Chalita have mentioned:
"To be able to participate and contribute to this project and to voice our opinions in crucial decision-making, we owe thanks to the senior management who have handed us this opportunity. If it were in another organization, we might not have encountered this kind of corporate culture. However, here at Ngern Tidlor, the management empowers us to think, experiment, and collaborate in creating new things for the organization.”
Viriyapa and Sakulrat told us about having a mentor like Piano Watcharapolmek, Head of Operations and Loan Telesales, who provides support and works behind the scenes to contribute to the success of the team:
"We’d like to express our gratitude to Piano for granting us the freedom to make decisions regarding our assigned tasks and for being an invaluable source of advice, support, and encouragement. She created a safe nurturing space for us to thrive. At the same time, her guidance has opened our eyes to aspects we may have overlooked and provided us with insightful ways to make the work easier. We felt empowered and motivated by the trust placed in us and having a mentor who provides guidance. It gave us the strength to strive for excellence in our work. We will do our best to take care of our teammates, just as she has taken care of us.”
As for Arpar, she mentioned the guidance provided by Pakamon Tulyapizitchai, Senior Vice President Digital Transformation.
"Pakamon always says that whenever we encounter a problem that we cannot solve on our own, we can always turn to her for help. This is the inspiration behind the 'Need Help' session, which is a part of our work update meetings with her. she understands that not everyone can tackle every issue single-handedly, and sometimes others can come in and provide additional support. This not only strengthens the spirit of teamwork but also serves as the secret sauce that makes the team stronger and more resilient.”
All of this is the result that goes beyond the E-Withdrawal feature. The project not only helps customers access financial services conveniently and easily but also provided lessons and experiences in problem-solving and working together. It also created opportunities for the new generation of Ngern Tidlor to showcase their potential and grow alongside the organization