Already in the middle of February 2022, the shareholder and the chairman of the Supervisory Board of IBOX BANK, Alona Shevtsova, congratulated her team on reaching the Top 20 financial institutions in Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian edition of Forbes, even with all the challenges that the bank and its team had to face in just two weeks, the bank not only showed stable results at the end of the hardest year in the modern history of Ukraine but also grew 2.5 times, writes the Ukrainian edition of Forbes.
According to the NBU, the IBOX BANK ranks eighth in the rating of the most profitable banks in Ukraine for the first 11 months of 2022.
On February 28, 2022, the shareholders of IBOX BANK made an unprecedented decision. Despite a full-scale war, they increase the authorized capital of the bank by UAH 0.5 billion, thus capitalizing the entire income for 2021. By making these patriotic decisions, the team of the IBOX BANK was able not only to feel the ground under their feet but also to spread their wings to conquer new heights.
The banking sector as the vanguard of the economic front
By the end of 2021, a properly developing and healthy banking system of Ukraine faced the challenges of a full-scale war. As a result, the overall profits of the banking sector decreased seven times. At the same time, even despite the fact that the volume of the funds in the system has drastically decreased, the banking system is still stable even in 2023. Why? Because since the beginning of the war, only two financial institutions have been taken out of the market.
Interestingly, the IBOX BANK decided to use the crisis caused by the war as an opportunity, thus starting a total digitalization and transformation of business processes. During her speech at the largest FinTech Ukraine conference in Ukraine, Alona Shevtsova noted that now there are only two ways for Ukraine and Ukrainian business: To have all or nothing.
“We had to stand up and overcome all the obstacles. And we did it. And we can still steadfastly and boldly stand on our feet. In addition, we are a technological country, so, we are capable of developing technologies, which shall be no worse than one of the advanced countries from all around the world. In addition, such things as IT, innovation, and digitalization, should be integral parts of every business that wants to maintain the status of the leader. For us, this is both a goal and a driving force,” says Alona Shevtsova, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of IBOX BANK.
Even in the conditions of the war, IBOX BANK continued the process of the total digitalization of business, and these efforts were appreciated not only in Ukraine but in many other countries. In 2022, the bank was able to receive a number of awards for Ukraine, thus showing the world that Ukraine is not only about overcoming the war, but also about bringing opportunities to Europe. Many of these opportunities are created by our talented and truly creative people.
Breakthrough business models that have changed the market once and forever
Already in 2020, the management of IBOX BANK focused on the strategy of the transactional business and it wasn’t a mistake. Since then, the bank has become the leader of this sector in Ukraine. Successful results are confirmed by both the indicators and the expert community, systematically recognizing the bank’s primacy in various ratings, competitions, and awards.
Such a sharp change in the financial model allowed the bank to become the largest transactional bank in Ukraine in 2020. By the end of 2021, the bank managed to show a fivefold increase in revenue. Even in the first year of the war, IBOX BANK became one of the leaders of Ukrainian Internet acquiring.
“We are fighting for the country, for the future, like everyone else but on our own front. After making donations in the amount of more than 70 million for the Armed Forces, we constantly implement a huge number of social projects throughout Ukraine. We are able to do this because we fulfilled the key task of the first days of the war: We retained the team, which is the key to our stability and growth. This allowed us to show almost the same level of profits during the first year of the war as in 2021. We have found new friends, allies, and customers. The country was united by a common issue, and this is already a fact. We have become stronger. I am sure that we will restore the economy, and the stable state of the banking sector is proof of that,” says Alona Shevtsova.
Last year, IBOX BANK continued to adhere to the transactional business strategy, thus continuing to develop other areas, launching new products, and improving its position in the banking market. According to the bank’s shareholder, such stability was achieved thanks to a fast and flexible IT infrastructure.
A wide range of innovative banking products for Ukrainian users has become an integral part of their lives. At the same time, such services as transferring funds from card to card, as well as Google Pay and Apple Pay have not yet gained such a level of popularity even in the countries of the European Union.
Digital transformation of business during the wartime
Our own development team is a must-have for a competitive technology business. Such things as CRM systems, backend, and customer support are the key elements, which you need to enter the market. At the same time, you can succeed only by offering innovations that no one offers.
According to Alona Shevtsova, IBOX BANK deployed server infrastructure in external jurisdictions 24/7. They successfully performed migration to the cloud, thus implementing cloud telephony, and beginning to develop remote channels at a new pace. The transformation also affected the organization of internal business processes. The result was the decision to implement an electronic document management system.
“Improvement is a trip without a final destination. We have formed a strong IT team that is passionate about our business, which allows the bank to develop modern banking products and services,” says Alona Shevtsova.
The shareholder of IBOX BANK also believes that the realities oblige all Ukrainian businesses to adopt a technological strategy of the future, thus providing an unprecedented level of adaptability and sustainability. While we are reaching the next chapter of digitalization, one should never forget about the customers who need not only easy and interactive interaction with the bank but also some kind of physical contact.
Last year, IBOX BANK opened 33 new branches throughout Ukraine. In 2023, they plan to open eight more offices.
By opening new offices across the country and actively implementing all types of digital services, the IBOX BANK team is at full speed and is not going to stop. Who knows, maybe we are already witnessing the birth of a new giant in the market of financial services.