Banco Popular de Puerto Rico strives to make banking easier for customers

For Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, a financial institution serving Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, mobile banking is hardly anything new. In the 1950s, the company operated buses with tellers for the convenience of customers in Puerto Rico.

This head start in mobility was borne of necessity, in part, as the island was — and is — frequently subject to severe weather.

Rachid Molinary of Banco Popular

That head start has proven helpful as the institution now looks to allow customers to conduct business on their smartphones and at unattended locations.

Rachid Molinary, senior vice president of digital strategy and innovation, offered an overview of efforts by Banco Popular to become more agile during last month's Diebold Nixdorf International Management Seminar in Lisbon, Portugal.

Like other banks presenting during the conference, Banco Popular views the ATM channel as part of its digital ecosystem. The machines connected to the same networks as customers' PCs and mobile phones.

"By using the same platform, I can cross-reference [customers] behavior," Molinary said. "It opens up a whole new level of how we are managing the ATMs [and] the digital channels."

Banco Popular ATMs allow customers to make payments for mortgages, credit cards, loans, utilities and mobile phones, according to the company's website. They can also register a store to make payments to through the ATMs, using the online network or by visiting one of the TeleBanco Populars, ATMs equipped with wired telephones.

In recent years, the company has introduced a service wall in some its branches offering four ATMs that accept cash deposits, Molinary said.

Currently, about half of the bank's deposits are made at the ATMs. A customer can also "pre-stage" a transaction on their mobile phone and execute it at the ATM. 

In addition to offering both indoor and outdoor ATMs, the company continues to operate mobile ATMs that bear a resemblance to the buses with tellers of the 1950s.

Customers can use wall-mounted touch screens for online or telephone transactions.

These mobile ATMs proved critical when last year's devastating hurricane destroyed buildings and many residents found themselves in urgent need of cash.

Branches also offer semi-enclosed booths with wall-mounted touchscreens, some with telephones, that serve as "listening labs" where customers can provide feedback.

A recently introduced mobile app allows third parties to withdraw funds on behalf of a customer, an innovation the bank is working hard to make customers aware of. 

In brainstorming new ways to serve customers, the bank relies heavily on its employees. For example, the company had employees test facial recognition to authorize ATM transactions, a possible future innovation.

Every quarter, the employees gather together to engage in a "game of value" to determine priorities, share opinions and decide who will work on what digital project.

Customers have access to indoor and outdoor ATMs.

"I kind of democratized the process," Molinary said. "That brings consensus."

Like many banks, Banco Popular finds it needs to have an agile structure to serve customers who are more comfortable with technology but want more banking service options.

Photos courtesy of Banco Popular