BNP Paribas has announced that it will invest €3bn ($3.2bn) in digital transformation initiatives, to improve operational efficiency and profitability.

The lender plans to invest in the transformation programme between 2017 and 2019.

It expects to generate €3.4bn in savings during the same period from the programme and €2.7bn in annual recurring savings starting from 2020.

BNP Paribas said: “In all the divisions, the Group will implement an ambitious transformation programme that aims at the same time to implement a new customer experience, the acceleration of digital transformation and improvement of operating efficiency.”

The bank said that the digital transformation initiative will depend on the success of a significant number of initiatives already underway in terms of products, apps and digital platforms.

It plans to implement five levers in all the divisions to renew the customer experience and build a more digital and efficient bank.

To accelerate the transformation, the bank will implement new customer journeys; improve the operational model by streamlining end-to-end processes, simplifying the organisations, and developing mutualised platforms; and adapt information systems by incorporating in particular new technologies.

BNP Paribas’ 2017-2020 business development plan aims to build the bank of the future by implementing a digital transformation programme.

The bank is targeting to achieve an average growth of net income in excess of 6.5% per year for the whole period.

Under its 2014-2016 business development plan, the bank launched Hello bank! which already has 2.5 million customers and developed digital banks in international retail banking.

In October last year, BNP Paribas and Crédit Mutuel announced to merge two electronic wallets – Wa! and Fivory -backed by them.

The new initiative is aimed at accelerating the development of an ecosystem of top-rank players in this field by building on the achievements of the two separate projects so far.

Image: It expects to generate €3.4bn in savings during between 2017 and 2019 from the programme. Photo courtesy of BNP Paribas.