Client-centered business model

Improving and simplifying cooperation with the bank

​The client is the key value of FUIB. Each employee does everything possible to make the cooperation between the client and the bank easy and simple. For the convenience of customers, all operating branches of the FUIB network, which numbered 208 at the end of 2023, have self-service areas with payment terminals where customers can carry out banking transactions themselves. The bank’s cash desks offer cash withdrawals using PayPass and PayWave contactless technologies. Free Wi-Fi is available in all branches. Also, for the comfort of customers-entrepreneurs, the bank equips geographically remote cash desks and B@W points within their premises. In addition, the bank creates 24/7 zones in its branches with round-the-clock access to banking services: by the end of the year, these zones were operating in 104 branches.

Due to the ongoing hostilities and rocket attacks caused by the full-scale war, the bank is sometimes forced to close branches. In 2023, 5 branches were closed. At the same time, in 2023, two branches in Kharkiv were additionally reopened, and the branch in Odesa and the branch in Bovshiv village were repaired and reopened after shelling. One branch in Zaporizhzhia was severely damaged by a rocket attack, it suspended operations and is currently being repaired to reopen.

In the autumn of 2022, due to the intensification of russia’s attacks on the country’s critical infrastructure, all systemically important banks, including FUIB, united to create POWER BANKING at the initiative of the National Bank of Ukraine. This is a joint network of bank branches across Ukraine that operate and provide banking services to customers even in a critical situation during a blackout. The branches of the joint network are provided with alternative energy sources and backup communication channels, have enhanced cash collection and additional staff. Currently, 88 FUIB branches are part of the general banking network of Power Banking.

In 2023, the bank continued to equip its branches with generators, starlinks and uninterruptible power supplies to ensure continuous operations and provide financial services to customers under any conditions.

In the second year of the war, FUIB provided consumer loans in small towns, helping to improve the welfare of the population. In 2023, at 550 express points of sale of the bank, it was possible to receive financial advice, as well as to apply for a loan for goods, a cash loan and a credit card. About 176 thousand customers used the bank’s services in small towns.

In 2023, in more than 5,000 partner stores (+2,337 over the year), including online stores, in 327 (+35) settlements of Ukraine, FUIB provided an opportunity to obtain a consumer loan for the purchase of goods and services. The bank’s employees not only offered to apply for the bank’s products, but also taught how to manage finances remotely. FUIB, together with its retailer partners, made customers’ purchases more affordable through interesting joint promotions, as well as provided opportunities to receive instalments when paying for goods by credit card. The use of smartphones for servicing helped to significantly reduce the time required to process loans and make the process more convenient for customers. Over the year, 25.4 thousand consumer loans were disbursed. Customers could receive up to UAH 100 thousand. In 2024, the bank plans to make the lending process completely paperless and expand lending to new segments, such as clothing, footwear, cosmetics and healthcare. 

At the end of 2023, FUIB served more than 1.5 million active private customers. During the year, the active customer base increased by more than 145 thousand customers (+10%). New customers were attracted by opening new debit cards – 81% of the new customer flow, of which 55% were attracted through remote channels, 20% – new salary cards. 

The most popular products among customers in 2023 were the following:  

• FUIB Online Internet banking, due to the active development of the mobile application feature;  
• debit card accounts, due to favorable terms and conditions of service, implementation of card delivery abroad, introduction of new identification methods;  
• salary card accounts, through active promotion of the product; 
• credit cards, through the sale of credit cards in the FUIB Online application.    

Customers are increasingly taking advantage of new opportunities. During the year, the number of customers making financial transactions increased by 20%: utility bills and money transfers. Transaction activity of customers in POS terminals also increased by 21%. The number of customers who started using services increased by 16% due to the choice of cashback categories and the use of service operations (statements, templates, etc.). 

In 2023, the bank launched a simplified process (in the FUIB Online mobile application, short with a minimum of fields and time) for attracting new customers to the bank with the possibility of identification through the application “Diia” or with a passport-book. Currently, we are working on providing the possibility of identification with an ID card. After completing this new process and receiving approval from the bank, customers receive a Single Credit Limit, which they can use without additional approvals to use their credit card or to purchase goods in instalments “Pay in instalments” in the bank’s partner stores, and can also receive additional funds on credit by using the “Money in instalments” products by requesting an arbitrary amount or a refund for a previously made debit or credit card transaction. 

Also in 2023, the bank offered its current customers support in the form of debt restructuring programs for valid credit cards and loans in the FUIB Online mobile application: repayment holidays and refinancing. The programs significantly reduced the customers’ payments, helping them to cope with temporary difficulties in paying their loan obligations. 

The FUIB Online mobile application has the main functions that allow customers to manage their finances 24/7 on their own from anywhere in the world, without contacting a call centre or branch. Most customers chose the mobile application to solve financial issues. In 2023, another 200,000 customers evaluated the application. At the end of the year, FUIB Online had more than 1.4 million active users. In 2023, FUIB Online implemented new features, such as moneyboxes, card delivery abroad, foreign currency transfers to relatives, transfers by phone number, etc. 

For example, the MoneyBox savings service allows you to conveniently raise funds for charity or save for your own dream. According to internal statistics, 35% of all customers who open a savings account for a dream stop saving after a while for personal reasons (forgetting to replenish, lack of patience, etc.). To motivate customers to continue saving, FUIB gamified the functionality for replenishment (a game and personal challenges motivate them to continue saving) and simplified the ability to share the details of the fundraising (it is enough to copy the link to the fundraising and send it in any convenient way or post it on social networks; the link to the fundraising can be either a link or a QR code). Another advantage of the service is 5% per annum accrued on the account balance. The major part of the opened moneyboxes are fundraisings to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and help family and friends.  

The card delivery service abroad was primarily of interest to Ukrainians temporarily residing outside Ukraine and in need of a bank card. The card can be easily ordered through the FUIB Online mobile application. In 2023, 47% of customers who ordered a card abroad became active customers of the bank (they make weekly transactions using the card). 27% of cards with delivery abroad were ordered by new FUIB customers. In 2023, 1,410 cards were delivered to the bank’s customers. 

One of the key advantages of the FUIB Online application is the ability to register even without having an account with the bank. Registration takes place on iOS and Android in a few clicks using the “Diia” application or a passport.  

FUIB became the first Ukrainian bank to introduce customisation of its application. Users have the opportunity to customise the application’s desktop according to their daily financial needs. The FUIB Online application also offers favorable terms and conditions for families serviced by the bank. In the application, relatives can establish family ties and make commission-free and unlimited transfers, which makes it very convenient to manage a joint budget. The application also provides the possibility of transferring currency to a relative in PLN, USD, EUR or GBP, which can also be purchased online in the application. 

Another unique tool for application users is the service of ordering cash currency to a specific bank branch. With this service, customers can specify not only the required amount and branch to receive it, but also a convenient date, and are guaranteed to buy the required amount of currency on a particular day. 

In 2022-2023, YePidtrymka virtual card is offered to recipients of state financial aid affected by the war. At the end of 2023, the bank had 512,000 active packages, and the amount of targeted government revenues totalled UAH 141 million. 

FUIB joined the programme of state aid for the restoration of damaged housing YeVidnovlennia in May 2023. As of 01.01.2024, UAH 90.8 million was paid through FUIB under the YeVidnovlennia programme. The number of customers who received payments was 1,054. 

In May 2023, FUIB also launched a social initiative to double the amount of state aid under the YeVidnovlennia programme. The maximum amount of payments is up to UAH 200 thousand.  The bank pays all taxes when receiving financial aid, so all the funds can be spent on housing renovation and a happy family life. The doubling amount is drawn using the random.org service. In addition, each recipient of the payment to the YeVidnovlennia card from FUIB is guaranteed to receive a bonus of UAH 500, which can be withdrawn to the card after the state has credited it, as well as 2% cashback on goods for construction and repair for three months. All accruals from the bank are credited to the customer’s debit card for any purpose. During 2023, the payment was doubled for 6 customers of the bank, with the total amount of the incentive amounting to UAH 594 thousand. FUIB’s social initiative to double the payment of YeVidnovlennia state aid will last until June 14, 2024. 

During 2023, 150 thousand loans, 63 thousand YeVidnovlennia cards, 75 thousand MoneyBoxes were opened in the bank’s mobile application and more than 120 million cashback was saved. Customers became much more active in mobile banking – the total number of service and financial transactions increased by a third. 

In 2023, FUIB continued to fulfil all its obligations. As a result of a balanced policy, the bank is trusted by its customers. Thus, 87% of the bank’s individual customers extended their deposits following the results of 12 months of 2023.  

In 2023, more than 23.8 thousand pensioners chose FUIB to service their pension accounts. As of the end of the year, there were 116.8 thousand active pension accounts in the bank. For recipients of social benefits, FUIB offers free opening and servicing of cards; recipients of social aid can choose cashback categories on a monthly basis, pay for utilities and top up their mobile phones without fees in the FUIB Online application. Customers can withdraw funds free of charge from ATMs of any bank in Ukraine and replenish their cards without fees. For pensioners, the bank also held a campaign to draw valuable prizes.  

FUIB customers received financial aid from the Ukrainian government and international organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ukraine and the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, UNICEF, the UN, etc.  

In 2023, the bank cooperated with more than 30,000 payroll companies, serving more than 351,000 of their employees. For salary customers we offer: free issuance and servicing of cards with free cash withdrawals at ATMs of any bank in Ukraine; free replenishment of FUIB cards in a network of various terminals throughout Ukraine; the possibility of connecting cashback, including for utility payments; remote channels for opening accounts using Diia and Bank ID; the ability to make salary payments to employees to accounts in different banks within one statement; delivery of payment cards in Ukraine and abroad; timely cash collection of ATMs installed at payroll companies; repayment holidays and loan restructuring programmes; an alternative channel for contacting the support service via chat in the mobile application. Salary customers are regularly provided with financial literacy training, as well as information on new opportunities, products and services.

Providing cash to the state in time of war

Starting in 2023, the situation with the transportation of cash and valuables was largely stabilized, with point-to-point control of collection routes remaining only on routes close to the frontline. At the same time, the main challenges facing the collection units remained the same as in 2022: evacuation of the bank’s valuables and its employees from the combat zones amid constant shelling, bombing and mined transport routes; cash replenishment of ATMs and bank branches under constant shelling; opening new logistics schemes for the supply of foreign cash; providing additional security measures for employees to ensure safe travel and identification at checkpoints; providing the necessary amount of cash to meet all customer needs; accelerated transition to electronic documents, their formation, signature and storage in order to preserve customer personal data.

Partnership with the Deposit Guarantee Fund

In 2023, FUIB continued to actively cooperate with the Deposit Guarantee Fund (DGF). In 2023, FUIB paid compensation to 6,493 customers of insolvent banks for a total amount of over UAH 637.9 million using funds received from the DGF. Of these, 750 people decided to continue cooperation with FUIB and became its customers.

In 2023, FUIB paid UAH 257 million in fees to the DGF.

Data security

In response to a significant increase in the number of DDOS attacks in 2023 (1-3 powerful attacks per quarter), FUIB strengthened the existing protection of remote customer service services. The longest DDOS attack lasted more than 1 week (180 hours). The bank launched a long-term Bug Bounty programme to search for vulnerabilities in public services for customers: FUIB Online, FUIB Digital, which allows thousands of ethical hackers to test the security of our services.

In 2023, the bank resisted fraud and new schemes by implementing a comprehensive approach. First of all, we developed a process for batch blocking and unblocking customers, which allows us to respond quickly to suspicious activity. In addition, cross-channel monitoring logic was introduced to detect fraud and reduce potential customer losses. New machine learning models helped to accurately detect suspicious activities and reduce their impact on customers.

Data is analyzed daily and the monitoring system is developed to detect anomalies and respond promptly to them. Exclusion lists are constantly updated, which allows us to effectively filter out potentially risky transactions for customers. The bank communicates with its customers and non-customers on social media to inform them about new fraud methods, such as: fake references to payments from the state or payment for goods/services on OLX.ua, independent transfer of funds for goods and services that are not provided to customers. Enterprises and companies serviced by the bank as payroll projects are informed about current fraud methods. FUIB has a transaction control system in place, which allows achieving a significant reduction in monthly losses of FUIB customers from fraudulent transactions. Additionally, new monitoring tools were introduced within the scope of the SAIF project aimed at counteracting such fraudulent schemes as “earnings on the Internet”, “online casino”, “assistance” from various “international organizations” and “cashing out funds from the accounts of customers of the temporarily occupied territories”. The security team focused on detecting social engineering, fake fundraisers for defenders, and rental housing for IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons). 

In 2023, the bank’s security team saved UAH 96 million on the accounts of 7.1 thousand customers due to continuous improvement of anti-fraud monitoring.  

In 2023, the Security Service implemented the following initiatives to ensure the safety of people and property:  

• CITADEL Situation Centre and PSIM Nembus automated physical security risk management system for better control over physical security and effective risk management; 
• new security protocols for operations in the de-occupied territory of Ukraine to ensure the safety of employees and customers in difficult conditions; 
• deepening the process of verification of counterparties and partners to prevent interaction with companies associated with the russian federation and the republic of belarus, to reduce the risk of internal fraud and staff safety. 

FUIB’s security service actively cooperates with the Cyber Police to identify criminal groups. FUIB’s security experts are actively involved in anti-fraud and cybercrime activities carried out by the Ukrainian Interbank Association of Payment System Members EMA for secure cashless payments in Ukraine. 

Client experience

FUIB studies customer satisfaction through various tools: external studies, Secret Buyer program, internal specialized surveys, complaints and suggestions. Thus, the bank has the most complete information on the feedbacks and behavior of clients when interacting with the bank.

The bank pays special attention to handling customer complaints and suggestions. FUIB has implemented the project Single Call Centre with maximum automation of processes, quick resolution of customer issues, and prompt customer feedback. The process of receiving a notification of fixing an application with a specified review period and a notification in case of extension of the deadline has been set up. 

In 2023, FUIB strengthened and expanded its customer experience research, taking into account the experience and needs of both those customers who remained in Ukraine and those who moved abroad. The conducted research, study of additional needs and problems allowed us to improve the customer journey of the foreign audience and thus enable them to feel no boundaries in using banking products and services.  

One of the results of this work was a project on family ties, which helped to meet the need of the bank’s customers for financial support for relatives anywhere in the world through the bank’s mobile application. The results of research among potential users made the process of transferring funds quick and convenient. FUIB also improved the customer journey and accessibility of the international transfer service by opening the possibility to use it through the hotline, the bank’s website and branches. 

After studying the needs and difficulties of customers who were outside Ukraine during the war, the process of delivering cards abroad was implemented. This allowed customers in other countries to continue to actively use banking products and services.  

In 2023, a new Moneybox product was implemented, which, among other things, helped customers with volunteer fundraising by providing them with a clear and easy-to-use tool for accumulating funds for specific purposes at FUIB. The testing and study of customer problems helped to meet the needs of this product. 

In 2023, FUIB continued to improve the process of paying for utilities through the application. Taking into account the wishes of customers based on complaints, suggestions and research, new service providers were added, making payment even more convenient. 

According to the results of an external study of customer loyalty by InMind, FUIB is among the TOP 3 market leaders in terms of NPS. The increase in the indicator for 2023 is +5 (60%).  The main driver of its growth was FUIB Online, as the mobile application is the main reason to consider the bank as the main one and recommend it. The growth was due to the focus on expanding the functionality, creating unique features, technical refinement of the application, improving the design, and increasing the level of intuitiveness for the customer when using it. 

After the mobile application, the bank’s products are the second most influential. According to the internal customer loyalty survey, VSEKARTA became the driver of NPS growth in 2023 (active market positioning, integration into the mobile application, provision of a wide range of services and the most attractive product conditions). The indices of loan products increased by +4.3 in 2023 compared to 2022 due to the launch of online lending in the second half of the year and attractive terms and conditions. Deposits in 2023 showed the highest indicator in the history of liabilities measurement (NPS 77.4; +3.8 compared to 2022). 

In 2023, the bank's investments in improving the customer experience amounted to UAH 6.9 million.