The Royal Bank of Canada saw a 7.9% year-over-year increase in computer rental and maintenance costs, spending $332 million during the second quarter.
The $1.5 billion bank is also betting on driving growth in its 14 million client base through “differentiated products and services, including going beyond banking through innovative solutions, including RBC Vantage,” and strategic partnerships, bank CEO and President Dave McKay said during the bank’s Q2 earnings call on Thursday. Additional technology spend was not broken out in the report.
RBC Vantage is the bank’s account service that leverages its artificial intelligence-powered digital assistant, Nomi, to provide tailored insights on a customer’s banking habits.
In May, the bank expanded the offering to include Vantage Snapshot, a new mobile app feature that tells customers about the value they could derive from an RBC bank account, such as cost savings and available RBC Rewards points balance. McKay called last year’s launch of RBC Vantage “a strategic investment.”
“In the last two years alone, we have gained over 70 basis points of marketshare in core checking accounts,” he added in reference to RBC Vantage and other investments made in the core deposit franchise.
McKay also called out RBCx, the bank’s specialized platform designed to help technology entrepreneurs by providing access to capital solutions, products and services, and operational expertise. It was released in June 2021.
“Our continued investments in our people, technology, products and services are creating more value for our clients and driving strong volume growth and client activity across our businesses,” McKay said.
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