The COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the way companies conduct business. In the case of banking entities, they have encountered two great challenges, the acceleration of their digitization process and the adaptation of their spaces to the new security measures, to protect both workers and clients from possible contagion.
Due to being considered an essential service, even in periods of great restriction, banking entities remained open. For this reason, implementing a prevention system in physical spaces has been essential for the activity to be safe and reliable, maintaining as much normality as possible given the situation.
Accelerating the digitization process
According to the report of Impact of COVID-19 on the financial sector, carried out by Funcas in collaboration with Finnovating, the majority of citizens have increased their online banking procedures during the pandemic.
This fact has resulted in a lower flow of people in banks, minimizing the possibility of contagion, and in a more personalized and efficient service for customers who really needed face-to-face attention, setting a precedent that will surely be maintained when back to normal.
Less important operations have been carried out directly from applications or ATMs, avoiding physical contact or travel, reserving physical visits for those operations with greater added value, such as granting a mortgage. And, if possible, by appointment.
In addition, the study shows that, during the pandemic, users have opted for the use of cards or digital payment methods as a form of payment over physical money. The sum of these factors positions Spanish banking as the best digitized in the world.
Transformation of physical spaces
Although online operations continue to grow, branches keep their doors open for those users who need to appear physically at the bank. In this context, banking entities have had to take measures to guarantee the safety of workers and of all those who have to go to their establishments.
To achieve this goal, technology has become a key piece, which can not only guarantee security, but also improve the customer experience. At Beabloo we have Interaction Care, a technological solution certified as an Intel® Market Ready Solution, to secure physical spaces against COVID-19 that incorporates a body temperature control system, occupancy control and mask detection, in addition to offer metrics to improve the management of these spaces. Always respecting the privacy of people, it does not collect or store personal data.
With the help of overhead cameras, social distance can be measured and guaranteed and the entry of people into physical spaces can be controlled. In addition, with thermal cameras, the solution allows the temperature to be measured at the entrance of banking entities as a way of preventing contagion by COVID-19.
In fact, with the help of existing technology and the incorporation of intelligent software that collects and processes key data (always respecting privacy), an alert system for social distancing and hygiene measures can be developed that turns a physical space likely to be a source of contagion in a safe space where you can operate normally.
Relying on this type of technology allows customers and workers to be protected in physical spaces alike, in addition, performance metrics of the establishment can be integrated to optimize its points of interest while maintaining security.
