Global contest announced for leading-edge bank tech initiatives

Efma, an association whose membership includes nearly one-third of the world's large retail banks, and Accenture jointly launched a global program to identify and award banks for leading-edge customer innovations. Submissions are due on or before Aug. 25 and are being accepted at http://www.efma.com/accenture.

The newly-launched "Efma-Accenture Distribution & Marketing Innovation Programme"-an annual award-seeks technology and operational innovations in customer-facing areas of retail banks-such as branch, online, and mobile banking-and in technology-areas such as customer-analytics and big data.

The program solicits case studies of groundbreaking customer innovations by retail banks globally within six categories: Digital and Mobile Excellence, Physical Distribution, Multichannel Customer-Experience Management, Customer Analytics and Big Data, Sales Effectiveness, and Responsible Business. Submissions are reviewed and judged by the Efma Innovation Awards Committee, which will identify a short list of nominees per each category. Efma members, which include 3,300 retail financial services companies in more than 130 countries, vote for the winners in each category.

Winners will be recognized at an award-ceremony in Paris Oct. 16, which will include presentations on the winning case studies in front of senior industry executives. Additional awards will be granted to recognize the "Global Bank Innovator" and "Most Disruptive Idea."

"In today's challenging market, the key to success for retail financial services institutions is in building a culture of innovation and exploring ways to create a superior customer experience," says Patrick Desmarès, secretary general of Efma. "This program elevates the world's retail banking innovators based on the critical and expert views of banking executives who are face-to-face with the industry's biggest challenges."

"The high level and global scope of this peer review and analysis of innovations is an innovation in itself for the industry," says Piercarlo Gera, global managing director of Accenture Distribution and Marketing Services. "We have cofounded this program as a means of promoting best practices in customer management with the goal of helping our clients-and the industry overall-identify new frontiers for improving profitability and the long term health of the banking industry."