Qorus, a global association for retail financial institutions, and Infosys Finacle today announced the winners of the eleventh annual Qorus-Infosys Finacle Banking Innovation Awards during an in-person ceremony attended by the top 3 winners and other leading innovators in the banking industry as part of the Finacle Conclave taking place in Faro, Portugal.
The awards, which honor the best ideas and practices transforming the industry for the benefit of banks and their customers, attracted more than 390 innovations from 177 financial institutions in 57 countries, with applicants ranging from agile start-ups to the world’s largest financial institutions.
Winners were selected across nine categories through a peer-based voting process combined with a panel of 40+ expert judges from leading global financial firms. The winners of the Qorus-Infosys Finacle Banking Innovation Awards 2024 are:
• Intesa Sanpaolo (Italy) – was named Transformative Innovator of 2024 for the bank’s ongoing dedication to innovation and digital transformation to ensure it is relevant, agile, and capable of adapting and capitalizing on the ever-evolving business landscape. This transformation approach has led to the launch of several cutting-edge products and services, including ‘E Smart Knowledge Base through GenAI Digital Advisor’; ‘MailMind: AI-driven eMail Processing’ and ‘ESG Scoring’ projects. The silver and bronze runners-up, respectively, were Caixabank (Spain) and Emirates NBD (United Arab Emirates).
• Československá Obchodní Banka (Czech Republic) – received the Business Model Transformation award for its ‘Market 24/7’ initiative. Teaming up with software developer Etnetera Flow, supermarket chain COOP and retail systems integrator PVA Systems to extend automated 24/7 shopping across the Czech Republic, the bank’s Market 24/7 facility allows the bank’s customers to confirm their identity and perform transactions at more than 60 automated stores. The silver and bronze runners-up, respectively, were BNP Paribas Bank Polska (Poland) for ‘Business model transformation for ESG financing’ and Banco BPI (Portugal) for ‘D-Verse NFT marketplace’.
• Ceska Sporitelna (Czech Republic) – received the Core Offering Innovation award for ‘Financial Health as Ultimate Company Purpose’ which strengthens the support it gives customers by creating a comprehensive ecosystem, integrated across multiple service points, that provides them with financial advice. Customers can receive guidance on how to navigate challenging financial circumstances from Ceska Sporitelna’s digital portals, obtain personal assistance from branch staff, or attend financial literacy events hosted by the bank. The silver and bronze runners-up, respectively, were Discovery Bank (South Africa) for ‘Shared-Value Home Loans’ and Emirates NBD (United Arab Emirates) for ‘Game on Deposit @ Liv’.
The 2025 Qorus-Infosys Finacle Banking Innovation Awards submission guide
• Banco Bradesco (Brazil) – received the Emerging Tech Innovation of 2024 award for ‘Digital Transformation with Generative AI’. This company-wide platform uses GenAI to enhance the capabilities of its employees, improve its governance and processes, strengthen its ties with partners, and provide a robust, scalable infrastructure for its business units. The bank expects the platform to boost its operational efficiency, innovation and customer service. The silver and bronze runners-up, respectively, were MoraBanc (Andorra) for ‘Digital Assets Platform’ and Royal Bank of Canada (USA) for ‘RBC Clear: Cash Management Reimagined’.
• OCBC (Singapore) – received the Future Workforce award for ‘Empowering Employees with Digital Office’. The bank has developed a company-wide digital platform that consolidates workforce requests and communications to increase the collaboration of its more than 30,000 employees in 19 countries and regions. The Digital Office platform incorporates technologies such as AI, blockchain and the Internet of Things and its roll out across the organization will accelerate the bank’s digital transformation. The silver and bronze runners-up, respectively, were Yapi Kredi (Turkey) for ‘Yapi Kredi BizPlay gamification platform for contact center employees’ and Bank of Central Asia (Indonesia) for ‘Robotic Precision for APOS Production Efficiency and a Better Workplace’.
• Trust Bank (Singapore) – received the Neobanks & Fintech Players award for ‘Exceptional Customer Experience Driving Digital Bank Growth’. Launched in 2022, this digital bank has established a customer-centric culture, supported by cloud technologies. By the end of 2023, it captured 14% of the local consumer banking market. The silver and bronze runners-up, respectively, were PhonePe (India) for ‘Democratizing Payments and Financial Services’ and Alpian SA (Switzerland) for ‘Alpian’.
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• mBank (Poland) – received the Operational Excellence award for ‘Bank App Activation with NFC Card’. The bank has enhanced the customer experience it provides its customers by using NFC technology to simplify its mobile banking app’s activation process. The new process, which is quick, secure and convenient, allows clients to use an NFC-enabled card to authenticate their identity and activate the mBank app. The silver and bronze runners-up, respectively, were Standard Chartered (India) for ‘SC Automate’ and Halyk Bank (Kazakhstan) for ‘Face Pay’.
• Banco Santander (Spain) – received the Reimagining the Customer Experience award for ‘Enhanced customer experience for SMEs and wholesale customers’. The bank is looking to increase its presence in the SME sector by enhancing the customer experience it provides small businesses and wholesale clients. Building on its extensive digital infrastructure, the bank is hyper-personalizing its engagement with SME customers and representatives, streamlining its systems and processes, using data to add value to its offerings, and complementing its service channels with specialist support teams. The silver and bronze runners-up, respectively, were Banorte (Mexico) for ‘Hyper-personalization’ and Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri Bank) (Thailand) for ‘GO by Krungsri Auto’.
• Intesa Sanpaolo (Italy) – received the Social, Sustainable & Responsible Banking award for ‘ESG Scoring’. The bank has addressed the lack of standardized ESG methodologies by developing its own scoring model to determine the ESG profiles of its corporate customers. The model draws data from a variety of sources and incorporates best practices, approaches and proposals from a wide range of industry associations, regulators, and rating agencies. Runners up were Banco da Amazonia (Brazil) for ‘BASA Digital’ and Union Bank of India (India) for ‘Union Access Accessible Banking Program’.
John Berry, Qorus CEO, said, “The awards are into their second decade and continue to serve as well as garner the overwhelming support of the banking industry. This is a true testament to the critical role they play in advancing the banking industry by meaningfully recognizing and rewarding the best and brightest ideas turned into action so others can learn and grow.” He continues, “This year’s submissions offer rich inspiration, illustrating how banks are broadening and diversifying their products and services to meet and exceed customer needs and expectations; investing in digital innovations; creating new ecosystems and marketplaces, and championing the sustainability imperative.”
To find out more about the award-winning innovations, members of Qorus can read the Innovation Radar 2024
Want to give visibility to your innovative projects? Submit them now for the Qorus-Infosys Finacle Banking Innovation Awards 2025!
