The iPhone is nothing new to us, as we had the first specific bank site to be launched on Apple’s telephone, in 2008. Since that launch, this mobile site has been a significant success, with almost 140,000 clients using it each month. This led us to look into the emergence of mobile applications and how we could use them to go even further.

This new application facilitates browsing and usage. It also provides more freedom in terms of developments to offer our clients and prospects real value-added services. The App was launched on Thursday June 24.

The first characteristic is that this application is accessible to clients and non-clients alike. This banking application is a sort of package, i.e. it doesn’t have just a single feature, but rather a variety of services. Eight to be exact, six of which are accessible to everyone.

Firstly users can manage their bank accounts in a personalised way. The other features allow users to:

- better manage their spending, by configuring up to 5 different areas (shopping, petrol, outings, etc.),
- to follow the stock market in real time or
- to carry out consumer loan or savings plan simulations.

Thanks to geolocation, the App can also tell users where the nearest Societe Generale branch or Societe Generale and Credit du Nord ATMs are compared to the user’s current location. It also has other practical services such as a currency converter and an emergency service to quickly and easily block your card and other means of payment. Lastly, we have incorporated a video section that, in the longer term, will provide educational content regarding our banking products.

All in all, our new application is one of the most comprehensive offers on the market. In France, there is currently no benchmark application in the banking domain. Some banks have launched fun applications. Others have focussed on account management, creating banking applications that are only accessible to their customers. None of our peers, however, currently target both mobile customers and prospective customers.

This is where our ambition lies: we want to provide a comprehensive application that can meet the requirements of both target groups. This is a major challenge: we are providing a new service that should eventually lead to a high level of customer satisfaction.

Note also that an Android version will be available before the end of the year.