Podcast | The future of banking in Bulgaria is mobile, fee-free and includes a super-app

The future of banking in Bulgaria is mobile – it will take place on the user's phone, one click away and without fees. This is what Elena Kaneva, who heads the product marketing of the tbi bank app, tells us in the fifth episode of the Economic.bg podcast Edno Naum (Bear in Mind).

This bank, known until recently for commodity loans, has now expanded its business and is accumulating a growing customer base, together with deposit funds, thanks to several innovations. tbi bank is already in the top 10 of the largest banks in Bulgaria by assets.

At the beginning of the year, tbi introduced its new application, which allows customers to open their deposit accounts entirely through their phones. The interest rates on these accounts significantly exceed the average for the banking market in Bulgaria and reach 3.2%.

Since we launched our functionality for opening deposits through the application, it has been the preferred option for 8 out of 10 new customers of our bank," comments Elena Kaneva.

This is also confirmed by the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) statistics, which show that more and more consumers are choosing tbi for depositing their savings - the bank recently exceeded the threshold of EUR 1 billion in attracted funds.

According to Kaneva, the profile of people who opt for mobile banking is expanding more and more. She made a prediction that mobile and online payments will grow by about 15% in the next few years.

And their future is clear - increasingly simple, fast and digital - entirely made through mobile phone numbers, QR codes, voice commands and biometric confirmation. And all this…

...in the very near future'.

The bank has also introduced products that can be considered pioneering for Bulgaria. Such is the neon card, which, according to Kaneva, combines "the best of debit and credit cards". It is a financial product, which already exists in Western countries, and now makes its debut in Bulgaria thanks to tbi bank. It allows instalments to be rescheduled for any payments - travel, dinner, education. If the payment is spread over 3 to 6 instalments, customers do not owe interest. There are no card fees, such as servicing, account transfers and ATM withdrawals.

This is one step beyond commodity financing because in it you sign a loan for each product, the bank evaluates you anew, and it does not apply to every payment," explains Elena Kaneva.

What the banking market in Bulgaria still needs is a super-app that would enable users to manage their accounts in all banks from one place.

Banks are also moving towards greater personalization of services based on user behaviour within the app and how a person spends their money.

Users’ demands change every month and their tolerance to error is constantly decreasing. We must be able to meet their needs," Mrs Kaneva points out.

This article was prepared with the assistance of tbi bank.

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov