Company offering a cyber-security solution based on passive biometrics
mElements - mBank Group’s offer for the e-commerce industry
In 2019, mElements continued to develop API (Application Programming Interface) products for the e-commerce industry, with an emphasis on Credit APIs, and focused on launching an e-commerce payment product.
In the area of e-commerce API, where mElements provides a unique credit API solution on a European scale, the company continued to grow its customer base, establishing cooperation with one of the largest online payment entities in Poland.
In 2019, mBank launched the API platform supporting access to payment initiation services and access to account history, as required by PSD2 (Payment Service Directive 2). Its test environment is provided by mBank’s so-called “sandbox”, which is a special IT system designed for third-party developers, i.e. TPP (Third-Party-Provider). mBank obtained the approval of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority to act as TPP in July 2019. TPP, which is related to the financial market, will be able to use the banks’ systems in the future to provide alternative services, e.g. to initiate payments or aggregate information about client transactions. The mBank’s sandbox is available at our page.
The whole production, delivery and development of this platform was the responsibility of the mElements team, and after the launch, the quality and stability of the solution was appreciated by the market – according to mBank’s API estimates, it is the most frequently used API on the market.
As a result of the PSD2 directive, several important innovations were also introduced in September 2019, including a change in the way of logging into the account (the so-called strong authentication), confirmation with a PIN code of selected contactless transactions (up to PLN 50), mobile authorization available in a separate application (mBank Token), the possibility of adding a computer or tablet to trusted devices or withdrawal of the list of one-time passwords. All relevant information for our individual, corporate, SME and corporate customers in the PSD2 area is available at our page.
In addition to the work on API development, in 2019 the company focused its efforts on creating and launching a strategically important business area for mBank Group – payment processing in e-commerce. In September, we completed a project lasting several months to create the required technological infrastructure for a product operating under the Paynow brand. In October, after a license process lasting several months, we received permission from the Polish Financial Supervision Authority to operate as a National Paying Authority. In the second half of the year, together with mBank, the company launched „friends and family” tests of Paynow’s services, which resulted in the participation of several hundred customers and the successful launch of full acquisition activities.
Moreover, in 2019 mElements also became a member of The Chamber of Electronic Economy, which associates the largest entities operating for the development of e-commerce in Poland.
The company is ending the year 2019 with a mature product portfolio, whereas the year 2020 will be marked by dynamic acquisitions and development aimed, among others, at taking advantage of the options launched under the PSD2 directive.
mElements - mBank Group’s offer for the e-commerce industry
mAccelerator has been the first investment fund in Central and Eastern Europe supporting the development and commercialization of new technologies. It was equipped with a budget of EUR 50 million (an equivalent of over PLN 200 million). The fund invests in start-ups which later should become partners for financial institutions from around the world. It focuses on cybersecurity, biometrics, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), artificial intelligence and digital marketing (in particular chatbots and communicators).
There are currently 6 companies in the fund’s portfolio:
Service supporting customers in terms of their network security
Specializing in Robotic Process Automation
Communication platform allowing automatic exchange of information with customers from mobile communication platforms
Formerly SaveCart, a company offering marketing automation tools for online shops
Technological HR platform acquired in 2019, which supports HR and L&D departments in managing, automating and analyzing processes related to employee development in larger organizations. The platform focuses on three areas, which are learning, communication and feedback.
New features of online banking
The year 2019 brought many changes, including those in internet banking. On 28 October mBank clients could see a brand new desktop after logging in. In addition to its clear and simple design, the new view gives the opportunity to adjust the elements visible on it to the user’s requirements. One of the most important changes after a thorough change of the service is undoubtedly the resignation from the “finance bar” thanks to which our clients no longer have to choose between the list of recent operations and the list of their accounts. Instead, users can see primarily such products as the basic account or a shortened version of the operation history.
We have also shortened the list of messages – all to make the most important information more visible. In the new desktop the users can decide for themselves what information they want to see immediately after logging in. This applies not only to the products they have, but also to the order of their presentation.
In 2019, we implemented a number of changes in the internet banking service, including:
Innovative process of implementation of changes is carried out in stages, enabling the analysis of comments made by customers. The solution enables us to publish new parts of the internet banking service to selected customers. It also allows to selectively enable and disable new functionalities in case of critical errors
A new standard of logging in to the transaction service with the inclusion of the SCA (Strong Customer Authentication) element, which implements the provisions of the PSD2 Directive. The customer can easily manage his trusted devices registered in the service
We have made the new history of operations function available to mBank clients as the first important module of the new generation of internet banking (Internet Banking 3.0). Based on the clients’ comments, we replaced two previous views of the history with one. As far as the usability of history of operations is concerned, the important elements are: history presented on one card, the balance visible after each booked operation; full range of filtering in the dedicated filter bar and the possibility to download files with lists of operations
When implementing changes in the internet banking service, we collect ratings and information from our customers. We take into account what is important for them in internet banking, how they evaluate the current service and how they would like to use it in the future. This is our starting point in creating new solutions and facilities.
Mobility
In 2019 we continued our systematic development of the mobile application. During this time, mBank provided 15 application updates, which confirms the organisation’s ability to make agile changes and respond to customer expectations. The work on the application was mainly focused on improving usability and communication as well as sales activities.
Despite a number of challenges related to the PSD2 (Payment Services Directive 2), following the suggestions of our users, we introduced a number of improvements to the application, which will make the use of the application easier and more pleasant.
New card details with an option to change the PIN
A redesigned card details screen, so that the user can quickly find the most important information and perform important actions for him. Additionally, we have made it possible to change the PIN code for the card
Option to add new recipients to the address book
When making a transfer to a new recipient, the user has the option to save the data to the address book so that he can make subsequent transfers faster
Refreshed appearance of mKantor, support for new currencies, currency calculator for card transactions
These are a number of improvements related to travel and currency handling. The mKantor service has been enriched with new currencies. At the same time, we have rebuilt mKantor’s screens to make transactions made on currencies even more intuitive. We have also introduced a currency calculator, thanks to which the client, by entering the transaction amount in the local currency, will receive the equivalent in PLN, converted at current exchange rates
Extension of transaction notifications with details of operations
The customer can decide whether the transaction notifications he receives are to include details immediately: transaction amount, name of the recipient and sender of the transfer and name of the store (for card operations)
Partial withdrawal of funds from a savings target
We have made available to customers the possibility of partial withdrawal of funds, without the need to liquidate the target
Renewing transfers to ZUS and Tax Office
We have extended the possibility of renewing transfers from history, for transactions to ZUS and Tax Office. The client, from the level of transaction details to ZUS or Tax Office, has the option of retransfer, which automatically fills in the transfer data based on the previous transaction
Refreshed BLIK screen
A new, more legible version of the screen with the BLIK code, taking into account the existing comments and suggestions of customers and preparing an application to make available subsequent BLIK services (the „Ask for a transfer” service started in Q1 2020
mFaktoring service
Is addressed to corporate clients, giving the possibility to activate a factoring limit, register new invoices and repay debt
The "Your assets" screen
A screen summarizing the client’s finances.
1,894.7 thousand
application users
70%
active clients
This is the highest rate in the Polish banking sector. On average, clients use it ca. 31 times a month. As much as 72.1% of all bank logins come from the application. Currently, we sell 43.6% of travel insurance and 12.5% of cash loans using the application. The value of unsecured loans launched using the application increased by 102.4% compared to 2018.
In March 2019, the mBank application was ranked 1st in the nationwide Mobile Trends Awards competition, in the “Banking and Finance” category. At the same time, the application was ranked 5th in the Forrester ranking: “The Forrester Banking Wave™: European Mobile Apps”.