Kyrill Tsarev, First Deputy Chairman of the Board at Sberbank, is responsible for boosting the bank’s customer service experience. The article covers Tsarev’s thoughts on the crucial competitive advantages that technology brings to companies. Additionally, a short biography of Kirill Tsarev is included.
Transforming Payment Method
At Sberbank, Kirill Tsarev and his coworkers are committed to making payment processes for individual customers easier. One of their most important achievements was the creation of P2P transfers connected to phone numbers, a theme that quickly got popularized and became a norm in the banking industry.
To prevent losing the edge, Sber introduced a biometric payment terminal that is a cutting-edge solution for frictionless transactions. Although the first units were pricey, the production was optimized to the point where the technology became less costly and more widely used. Kirill Tsarev felt that by 2024, nearly 600,000 terminals of this type would be working in the whole country, with a further increase to a million by the end of the year, thus holding a 30% share of the market nationwide.
The new generation of Sberbank terminals allows customers to pay in five different ways: bank cards, payment stickers, QR codes, NFC-enabled smartphones, and even face recognition (“smile” payments). Alongside processing more than five million transactions a day, Sber has made a remarkable achievement in 2024 by increasing NFC payments’ speed by 1.5 times for all phone models, thus establishing a new record for the industry in terms of speed and efficiency.
Importance of Inclusive Services
As per Kirill Tsarev of Sberbank, the disability population in his country is around 11 million, yet a lot of them are only partially assimilated into the social sphere. In realizing the necessity for accessibility, Sberbank has been trying nothing but hard to provide inclusive solutions over the last 8 years by determining the diverse needs of customers and making its services and communication channels suitable for them.
Among these is Sberbank’s accessible ATMs, which is a remarkable project. Blind and visually impaired customers are now able to use these ATMs by themselves, as they can plug in their headphones and receive voice instructions guiding them step by step through the operation. Moreover, the input of Braille code for PIN is available at some terminals to the benefit of the visually impaired customers. The users can press anywhere on the screen, and each digit will be represented in a different dot pattern, thus no one can know which digit was tapped. Meanwhile, hearing-impaired customers are provided with sign language consultations at about 6,000 branches of banks all over the country.
Still, Kirill Tsarev asserts that being inclusive is not only about the permanently disabled but also encompasses their families as well as people who are going through temporary difficulties caused by illness or accident. He reiterates the point that the customization of banking services is a very personalized procedure requiring the creation of solutions for each customer based on their particular needs. He believes that accessibility has to be a consideration right from the product design stage, providing all with smooth user experiences.
Aside from adjusting its own offerings, Sberbank has taken the role of a pioneer, setting up practical follow-up guidelines that other companies could take up. Utilizing its large experience and proficiency, the bank has made available to the public a number of accessibility manuals through its portal. The mentioned resources discuss issues like making services universal, upgrading access to digital media, and fine-tuning the communication with people having learning difficulties and the elderly customers.
Speaking on Sberbank’s approach, Kirill Tsarev states:
“I would like to emphasize that inclusivity is not a charity but a business process. Each of our services helps people integrate into society while also benefiting both the individuals and the country. We collect knowledge from various sources and transform it into guides that businesses can easily understand. This helps our followers get started on accessibility matters much faster.”
Looking ahead, Tsarev sees artificial intelligence as a game-changer in making banking services even more seamless and accessible. He believes that AI-driven solutions will further accelerate the process of obtaining Sberbank’s products and services, making financial inclusion a reality for millions.
Kirill Tsarev’s Biography
The future top manager is a two-time degree holder, one being an economics and machine-building enterprise management degree, the other a law degree. His educational background is not limited to his country since he has also attended the London Business School, which has additionally enriched his skills in international business and finance.
Kirill Tsarev has been a Sberbank employee since 2011, and it has become the main institution in his professional life. Prior to Sber, he worked in various banks and leasing companies, thus gathering good experience and sharpening his skills in financial management and strategic development.
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