Simplify life

We aim to simplify life for our customers, taking the initiative to offer the services best suited to each and every one. We do this both by developing simple and accessible solutions that customers can access at any time and by utilising data to provide customers with personal and professional advice.

The new features we have introduced in recent years are the result of a clear strategy set in 2017, which prioritises development of digital technology. Our digital solutions are in great use and surveys show that customers are very satisfied with them indeed.

Around 70,000 customers in the app

Since Landsbankinn’s app was introduced in 2018, use has grown continuously. In December 2020, around 70,000 individuals used the app to tend to all main banking business - pay bills, view their balance, alter limits, access payment card information and more.

Tripling in use of electronic signatures

Basing our digital service platform on solid technological foundations allowed us to respond quickly to new conditions and multiply the availability of options to finalise customer business online or over the phone.

One of the means by which we were able to ensure this was by utilising electronic signatures. All applications and contracts for Covid-19 relief measures could be signed electronically. Electronic processes and signatures in lending and refinancing were a huge help in responding to the high demand for housing loans in 2020. The increased availability of options allowing for electronic signatures, innovations in our service and the impact of the pandemic caused the use of electronic signatures to triple between 2019 and 2020.

Within a very short time, we made it possible to use electronic signatures to sign around 70 different documents used in corporate banking and also added to the availability in personal banking.

We focused on assisting individuals who are not used to taking advantage of digital solutions and meeting the changing needs of companies who faced various challenges, including having to rely on employees working from home.

Solutions are digital across the spectrum

“In 2017, we determined to focus on digital development and made certain key changes to enable that journey. Project ranking was clarified and all collaboration across the Bank’s departments and divisions boosted, increasing teamwork between software development groups and business segments in the shaping and development of new solutions. There was also a strong focus on increasing the effective utilisation of data.

Looking back in 2020, it is interesting to see all the innovations that have been introduced in the past three years, such as Landsbankinn’s app, which offers customers several exciting options. Both individuals and companies can become Landsbankinn customers through the app and begin using the Bank’s services in a matter of minutes. In addition to the conventional overview and payment options available in online banking platforms for several years, digital service channels now offer various other features. These actions vary from such simple banking matters as creating accounts or applying for a payment card to more complex processes such as credit assessments, or increasing, decreasing and managing limits on overdrafts and credit cards. Contactless payments have proven their worth in Covid-19, be it with smart phones or watches.

The Bank’s robust technical infrastructure has allowed us to respond rapidly to new challenges, as proven when the pandemic first hit. During the development of these solutions, emphasis has been placed on ensuring that the entire process is digital without any need for human intervention. It is especially pleasing to see that utilisation of data has become an integral part of all analysis and how low the technical threshold for such analysis has become. This supports all use and has numerous benefits.

The past three years are a solid indication of what we can expect from the future, and we intend to ensure that Landsbankinn leads the way in digital banking service.”

Simpler and more accessible banking service

The Bank’s new website, launched towards the end of 2020, aims to simplify finances and promote instruction and advise. The new website is both clearer and more user-friendly than the old one. All key information is accessible from any point and features and tools, such as calculators, were re-designed from the ground up to further simplify the user experience. Design was based on use of the older website and a detailed needs analysis.

We introduced several new features in the online banking platforms and Landsbankinn’s app, all aimed at increasing self-service, facilitating access to information and improving customer service.

Corporate banking in the app

In 2018 and 2019, we focused on digital services for private individuals. In 2020, we shifted our focus to corporates and can safely say that more changes were made to corporate services than ever before. It has never been easier for companies to become Landsbankinn customers, create bank accounts and monitor claim collection, to name but a few examples.

As of December 2020, Landsbankinn’s app includes access to corporate accounts. In the app, users can migrate between corporate accounts with ease, view data, monitor claim collection and complete various transactions.

Create accounts independently

Another important change was that companies who are Landsbankinn customers and have completed due diligence, can now create bank accounts independently in online banking for corporates. Previously, this option was only available in the on-boarding process. The option of creating own accounts was introduced in May 2020 and Landsbankinn was the first domestic bank to offer this solution. Both companies and individuals were also offered the option to create vacation pay accounts independently and, since this solution was introduced, around 77% of all new vacation pay accounts have been created in self-service.

What are you paying for?

Landsbankinn has for several years led the way in innovation and development of collection service. With the new features introduced in 2020, companies, associations and other legal entities can include more information with sent claims. Parents and legal guardians are familiar with the issue of multiple claims from several sports clubs not clearly ascribed to a child by name and the difficulty in ascertaining what child one is paying for in online banking. This problem should now be a thing of the past.

Aukalán in the app to bridge the gap

Among new features introduced in 2020 was the availability of Aukalán loans in the app. Aukalán is a non-indexed loan with annuity payments which customers can apply for independently when they need to bridge a financial gap.

Self-service credit limit

The services Aukalán, adjusting overdrafts, raising payment card limits and smoothing credit card bills are based on an automatic credit framework that calculates the credit limit for customers. In 2020, we introduced the option of requesting a higher credit limit than offered under the credit framework in the app and online banking. This also means that new customers can immediately apply for an overdraft and Aukalán, and get credit cards from the Bank through self-service, all in a matter of minutes.

The automatic credit framework is based on the utilisation of data and requires no manual input in the calculation or finalisation process.

Major digital advances

Almost all of the Bank’s services are available through digital channels. Use of all the Bank’s self-service solutions is high and has grown steadily in recent years. In 2020, the rate of self-service utilisation increased further, in part because of access restrictions that applied to the Bank’s branches under Covid-19.

Landsbankinn's gift card in the phone and smart watch.

In 2019, we made it possible to open credit cards in the app. As online shopping increases, it became convenient to be able to save all card information to the app, and copy and paste them to online vendor forms.

Contactless payments

Landsbankinn opened for use of Apple Pay, first of the Icelandic banks, in May 2019. Android users had already begun using a similar solution with Landsbankinn’s card app. These solutions are user-friendly, enabling card holders to pay with their phones or watches. When Covid-19 hit, these solutions became an important part of disease prevention, and at year-end 2020, contactless payment with phones or watches accounted for 23% of all payment card transactions. Also in 2020, the option of adding Landsbankinn's gift card to these solutions was added, and phones and watches can now be used to pay with the gift card.

We are here to help

Limited access to branches under Covid-19 shifted communication with customers in an increasing fashion to online and phone channels. To prevent long wait times, we offered customers the option of requesting consultation calls or making appointments at branches at the time of their choosing. The Bank’s staff around the country participated in answering phones, emails and other messages, spreading the workload and minimising wait times.

Customers were quick to respond to appointments, booking over 29,000 phone calls and appointments in branches and the Corporate Banking Service Centre in 2020.

More ATMs accessible around the clock

Self-service is not restricted to the app and online banking and is also available in ATMs and other self-service equipment. We operate the largest ATM network in Iceland and have emphasised renewing equipment and improving access to ATMs and coin roll dispensers by making them accessible around the clock. Various new equipment has been taken into use, including gift card vendors in the branches in Vesturbær and Mjóddin, both of which are accessible around the clock.

Doubling of securities transaction contracts

Public interest in securities increased greatly in 2020, following significant changes in the interest environment, and the number of new securities transaction contracts with the Bank doubled between years. Previously, customers needed to visit a branch to sign such contracts. Under Covid-19, we hastened work to enable customers to sign securities transaction contracts electronically. This solution was launched around mid-year and has proven its usefulness, for example with the high participation in Icelandair’s stock offering in September 2020.

Other new solutions include enabling customers to view the balance and development of their asset portfolios in the app and to access information about pension savings, vastly improved with a new pension savings portal.

Due diligence quick and easy online

All customers are required by law to complete a due diligence questionnaire as part of actions to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. We focused on making the process as convenient as possible and, as of November 2019, both private individuals and companies have been able to complete due diligence in online banking and the app in a matter of minutes.

Positive results in the battle against cybercrime

Despite ever-increasing cybercrime, fewer of us are falling victim to such attempts. In 2020, successful attempts at cybercrime, leading to loss and damages, decreased by half as compared with 2019. It is our opinion that these good results have been achieved mostly through education and information campaigns on cybercrime. More details on cybersecurity at the Bank are included in the chapter on publishing.

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