This article appeared in The Times of Malta.
As the technology driven disruption and transformation of the financial services industry gathers pace globally, MeDirect continues to cement its place as Malta’s standard bearer in digital banking. Having set out five years ago to become Malta’s first digital bank, it remains the only Maltese institution providing a wealth of investing, retail and corporate banking services, all through a market leading mobile app and online banking platform.
2024 has not seen any let up in MeDirect’s commitment to leveraging technology to provide customers with the products and information they need to manage their finances successfully. The most recent developments have been in the daily banking space. This resulted in the launch of card services last summer, which has now been followed by the recent launch of digital wallets.
“The fact that MeDirect customers can use their phones to pay for purchases just a few months after we first launched cutting edge technology for our digital card services, shows how determined we are to give customers the latest financial tools to make their life easier,” says Pawel Malukiewicz, Group Head – Channels & Customer Experience and Chief Product Officer.
Speed and accuracy are key to any successful digital offering and in MeDirect’s case that has meant a rapid, but practical, embrace of Artificial Intelligence. Central to this has been the provisions of training to all employees which is designed to help them understand how they can best use AI to assist them with more mundane tasks and free up time for more interesting and rewarding projects. “Employees are leading our AI roll out because they know what they need to be able to deliver the experience our customers want, and this also makes their workdays more engaging,” adds Malukiewicz.
The relentless focus on technology has given MeDirect the added advantage of being able to successfully internationalise, something which again sets it apart from other Maltese banks. With a platform that is robust but flexible, MeDirect can adapt its offering to different market conditions and scale with minimal additional cost. The result is that the bank now has more than 140,000 customers in its core markets of Malta, Belgium and the Netherlands. These customers have entrusted MeDirect with more than €5.4 billion of their assets. This impressive growth has resulted in MeDirect becoming a systemically important bank in Malta which means it is supervised by the European Central Bank, in addition to the regulatory oversight provided by the Malta Financial Services Authority.
“As an agile digital bank, we can also react quickly to changing market conditions and new opportunities both in existing markets and new potential ones. It also means we can create interesting new offers for our customers to help them grow their wealth,” says Ingrid Micallef, Head of Wealth at MeDirect. “An example of this is our current offer where we are giving customers the opportunity to invest in equities, ETFs, bonds and mutual funds without paying any commission. We have further enhanced our service to investors by enhancing the number of investment options for our customers.”
These latest updates to MeDirect’s investment services have set the scene for even more innovation. A major revamp of the platform is on the horizon which, among other things, will make it easier for clients to make monthly contributions to savings and investments and see the launch of new model portfolio services.
“MeDirect has been on a great journey in recent years but we’re nowhere near done yet. As technology and customer expectations continue to evolve, you can expect us to stay at the forefront of Malta’s financial services industry,” concludes Malukiewicz.
MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc, company registration number C34125, is regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority and is licensed to undertake the business of banking in terms of the Banking Act (Cap. 371). The Bank is a participant in the Depositor Compensation Scheme established under the laws of Malta.
MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc, is licensed to provide investment services under the Investment Services Act (Cap. 370). When investing you may lose some or all of the money you invest. The value of your investment may go down, as well as up. Any income you get from this investment may go down, as well as up. A commission or sales fee may be charged when trading in securities.
MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc is regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority as a Credit Institution under the Banking Act 1994. Applications are subject to the Bank’s lending criteria. Terms and conditions apply and are available on request.
