A brand new chapter of the bank transformation that has been going on for years is here, and it’s about virtual branches. Standard Chartered recently performed the biggest launch in history , with 9 countries and 5 million customers, and the new launch of global bank is expected to reach customers across 16 countries.

But what exactly sets a virtual branch apart from regular internet banking? Well, imagine that you just don’t have to go to the bank anymore. Thanks to real-time face-to-face video chats with various experts, real-time desktop sharing, co-browsing, voice biometrics, on-screen signing and of course secure connections, even more complex processes such as obtaining a mortgage will be possible from the comfort of customers’ own homes, or wherever they happen to be as long as they have an internet connection. New customer onboarding is also being made available without said customer having to set foot in the bank branch (so called eKYC process). And the benefits are not all just for the customers – less bricks-and-mortar branches mean less costs and, as it turns out, a higher conversion rate, as 95% of the bank’s offer can be transferred to this virtual channel. Bank Zachodni WBK, which has 6 million customers, noted that over the course of just one year video connections increased tenfold, they have 2500 virtual sessions a day, and around 20% of virtual connections coming from active engagement end with filled online applications.

Virtual branches are still at an early stage of market adoption, but the pace just keeps getting faster. According to EFMA (the European Financial Management Association) as many as 80% of the world’s banks will be involved in virtual branch deployments by 2018. The launch by a mainstream bank is proof that virtual customer service is becoming standard.

Such virtualized branches are already available in many countries. Banks such as the Nationwide Building Society in the United Kingdom, Bank of America, Bank of Montreal in Canada and Westpac in Australia have deployed videoconferencing systems enabling customers to remotely contact centrally located experts such as loan and financial advisors. Other banks such as ABN Amro in the Netherlands, Commerzbank in Germany, mBank and Bank Zachodni WBK in Poland, Barclays in the UK, ICICI in India, the Royal Bank of Canada and Standard Chartered Bank, have introduced virtual banking, which means more and more physical functions of bank branches are being moved into the virtual area.

The world’s most innovative banks, such as Standard Chartered, Commerzbank (2^nd in Germany) and two globally awarded and appreciated Polish banks, mBank and BZ WBK, and lately acquired by a new global bank, have chosen the LiveBank Solution one that is not only the most advanced solution currently on the market, but also available in the largest number of banks worldwide. LiveBank’s success and market leader position are undoubtedly due to LiveBank owner Ailleron’s focus on banks’ needs and inquiries.

And naturally, LiveBank is thrilled to see the enormous interest of banks on every continent to implement such a solution. In 2015, their system was used in just 2 countries to serve 18 million bank customers. Last year, it was 13 countries and 40 million customers, and in 2017 they are predicting explosive growth, to over 30 countries and 150 million customers using their system – the acquisition by a mainstream bank is definitely a milestone on LiveBank’s journey to conquering the market.

“Banks face new digital contact demands from tech-savvy customers. LiveBank is a world leader in branch virtualization, multi-channel messaging and AI in customer service. Having introduced our technologies to a number of banks, we finally feel it is entering the mainstream. We are very proud to be chosen by one of the biggest international banks. We are riding the revolution of virtualization and automation,” says Rafał Styczeń, Ailleron CEO.