All lecturers shared their ideas on the Innovations Wall of UniCredit Bulbank.

The banking of the future is not shrouded in secrets and mystery but is happening here and now. This was said by Tsvetanka Mincheva, Director of Retail Banking at UniCredit Bulbank at the first international innovations forum in Bulgaria - the Innovation Explorer Forum, organized by Economedia and Innovation Starter Box.

"Creative problem solving" is the definition of innovation given by Anthony Christov, art director of PIXAR and opening presenter at the forum. Christov wrote his definition on the dedicated Innovations Wall created for the event by UniCredit Bulbank. It was exactly the wall that became the real generator of ideas, after all presenters at the Innovation Explorer 2015 and most of the attendants of the forum shared their views on the topic.

Innovations in slow cooking; homes for the homeless; a children's daycare center where children themselves assemble their toys; a smart phone mediator of fighting couples and use of scientific approaches to understanding consumer needs – these are only some of the ideas with which the guests of the event filled the wall.

Dr. Felix von Held, founder of the Institute for Innovation and Change Methodologies in Munich and presenter at the event, drew a scheme of his concept for connection of people with innovative skills. With the dedicated hashtag #InnovationBank all participants in the forum could share their ideas in the social media.

"The principles of banking have not changed over the last 100 years but the client has already changed. He is informed, mobile, online, used to new technologies, wants to do everything in a quick and easy way, where and when he feels comfortable", commented Tsvetanka Mincheva.

Such a client is Plamen for example. He is 32 years old, married with one child, works in the pharmaceutical sector; he has high income and his own house. He is one of those very busy people who don’t have spare time to take care of their finances.

Plamen, whose real name we are going to keep secret, asked his friends through his personal profile on Facebook to recommend him a bank to issue him a card which he would need in connection with his forthcoming trip to Austria. One of his friends in the social network directed him to UniCredit Bulbank because their cards could be used for ATM withdrawals free of charge all over Europe. A few minutes later Plamen had already ordered his card through the bank's website.

This is the story of Plamen – how he first contacted the bank, and how later on he started using many other products and services offered by the same bank. With his debit card he makes an average of 20 payments per month. Through mobile banking he makes around 20 more operations and at least 5 of them are for payment of utility bills - and all this through the mobile device. Through the online banking Plamen managed to make a third party liability insurance and to fix a date for a test drive for his new car which he could buy directly from the bank and even online.

Clients have already changed and data shows it - the first contact of ¾ of the clients with UniCredit Bulbank is made especially through the alternative banking channels. It means that people are first looking for information through the call center, the website of the bank, the social media, etc., and only on the next stage do they visit the branch for an expert advice or for more complex banking operations.

More information for media:

UniCredit Bulbank, Identity & Communications Department

Viktoria Blajeva, Phone: + 359 2 9264 993, wjlj/ebwjepwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Magdalena Ivanova, Phone: + 359 2 9232 528, nbhebmfob/jwbopwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch