Citi is rolling out a single-entry point digital platform to cater to the needs of its commercial clients, the bank announced last week.
The platform, dubbed as CitiDirect Commercial Banking, is built to compile the lender’s global products and services into a single platform while offering the clients a better view of their banking activities across cash, loans, trade, foreign exchange, servicing and onboarding, the bank said.
The platform is live in the U.S., with more than two-thirds of Citi’s target client base — those holding between $10 million and $3 billion in revenue — using it, Mark Sugden, head of CitiDirect commercial banking and digital transformation, told American Banker.
Citi plans to launch the platform in the second half of this year across Hong Kong, India, Singapore and the U.K.
“Our new banking platform has been designed and built with a client-centric focus,” Sugden said in a statement. “The outcome is an innovative platform that responds to our clients’ complex needs and their expectations of a simple and intuitive digital banking experience.”
Shahmir Khaliq, the bank’s global head of treasury and trade solutions, called CitiDirect an example of how different teams within Citi work together to deliver various products to clients.
Single-entry platforms for commercial clients are good for banks, Jordan Sternlieb, a senior partner at West Monroe consulting firm, told American Banker. These solutions can help banks retain clients and offer more opportunities to cross-sell products and services, boosting the bank’s wallet share for every customer, he said.
Many banks haven’t launched such platforms because of the challenges that come with it, Sternlieb said.
"There are so many lines of business involved, and everyone's got a different idea of what it needs to look like," Sternlieb told American Banker. "Who's going to pay for it? How is it all going to work? How do we execute? It's a really classic example of banks getting in their own way, based on the way they're internally organized and operating, versus what's the best thing for their customer,” he added.
Citi isn’t alone in tweaking its commercial-banking platform. Wells Fargo in December launched Vantage, an outlet that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to bring a “consumer-like experience” to the lender’s commercial and corporate clients.
Tasnim Ghiawadwala, global head of Citi’s commercial bank, said CitiDirect had the potential to make good on a goal the bank set forth at its 2022 investor day — namely, to double the 2% market share it claims of a $150 billion targetable commercial wallet.
“At the time, we spoke about our intention to deliver on a differentiated client experience through a single digital platform, that will empower clients and save them time, while offering them complete visibility and control,” Ghiawadwala said. “We anticipate that CitiDirect Commercial Banking will continue to evolve to support our clients as they grow their businesses globally.”
