Nedbank’s Private Clients offering brings tech and people together

Johannesburg - The concept of ‘private’ banking has always been a somewhat complex one, with banks taking different views on everything, including entry criteria, lifestyle perks, rewards, and more recently, what combination of digital self service and assisted-service channels is best suited for this market.

The Covid-19 pandemic, cost pressures and industry shift to digital have seen banks pushing for predominantly digital service models, often at the expense of the ‘human touch’ that affluent clients have become accustomed to over the years.

'For many private banking clients, the move to digital only, or predominantly digital banking service, has not been optimal. While digital has enhanced and simplified the everyday transactional components of their banking experience in many ways, it has diminished the human experience of the service. The affluent segment is more complex in nature and clients expect to get personalised support from their bank when they need it,' says Tracy Afonso, Executive for Private Clients at Nedbank.

'We saw this evolution as a unique opportunity to reimagine Nedbank’s offering to the affluent market, repositioning it in a way that aligns with the dynamic banking and financial needs of affluent individuals who typically have an income of more than R750 000,' adds Afonso.

Nedbank recently relaunched its affluent offering, previously known as Professional Banking, under the Private Clients label in support of its strategy to offer a highly personalised, customised and flexible banking solution, tightly coupled with wealth creation and management services. The offering seeks to combine world-class technology with the benefits of a relationship-based approach, giving clients the best of both worlds.

'In essence, Private Clients from Nedbank is a digitally-enabled, human connected banking solution that seeks to provide a best-in-class, complete banking experience for people who expect more and want to go further,' says Afonso. 'This experience is facilitated by a dedicated relationship banker who:

• invests the time and insight to understand fully the unique needs of their clients;
• has access to an extensive network of financial, investment and wealth management experts when required; and
• is supported by a dedicated credit environment that looks at lending requests in the context of this market’s needs, expectations and risk profile.'

And while the relationship banker is always there when clients need personal input or guidance, Private Clients have access to the award-winning Nedbank Money app and Online Banking platform, which offers rich self-service functionality for the majority of everyday transactional, investment and lending needs.

Ultimately, the offering is built on the bank’s recognition that optimal banking outcomes for affluent and aspirational individuals can be created only by an appropriate balance of personal relationships and digital enablement. As such, Private Clients from Nedbank transcends traditional private banking, with its primarily transactional focus, to offer clients the ideal combination of accessible digital banking, sound financial management partnership, personalised wealth creation and optimisation, and a host of rewards and lifestyle benefits - all designed to evolve and grow as clients progress on their professional, personal and wealth creation journeys.