Erste Group's pan-European financial platform 'George' deployed to Romania

BCR officially launched on Thursday the digital banking platform developed by Erste Group - 'George', which offers Romanians a different way to do banking: easier, highly customized and one hundred percent online, the bank announced on Thursday. 

A brainchild of Erste Group's in-house innovation hub in Vienna, 'George' is the first smart banking system in Romania. 

"Our path in the development of 'George' started from the expectations of the public, which demands a change in the way the banks speak and act. The world is evolving rapidly today, and our lives are changing from one day to another thanks to technology. Under the pressure of the daily hectic pace, people are increasingly looking for digital experiences to satisfy their desires and they feel good when they find simplicity, comfort and support. Especially in their financial life they need a 'here and now' and of course, a good friend. We call it 'George', the beginning of a comprehensive digital financial universe and, once matured, our bet is that the Romanians' experience in relating with a bank will never be the same again. If time is money, 'George' can be your financial companion in an increasingly noisy world," said BCR CEO Sergiu Manea. 

According to the BCR official, George was redeveloped locally by BCR's experts, along with a complete digital ecosystem with a current account and dedicated card, a unique feature within Erste Group. 

The 'George' platform was developed on the basis of advances in digital research, as a collective effort of teams of IT and design experts, psychologists and behavioral sociologists. As a result of customer insights at all stages of the project, 'George' is exceptionally customizable: everybody can create their very own version of 'George', tailored to their specific banking needs. Apart from the application, 'George' comes with a complete digital ecosystem with current account and dedicated card that can be contracted exclusively online in less 10 minutes, so anyone can remotely contact 'George' from his phone, tablet or laptop, the release said. 

The bank mentioned that the platform was called 'George' after Lawrence Sperry's revolutionary invention, 100 years ago, of the first autopilot which was affectionately named George. 'Let George do it!' came to stand for confidence in technology, in inventions, which make life easier and safer. 

Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR), a member of Erste Group, is one of Romania's major financial groups, including universal bank operations (retail, corporate & investment banking, treasury and capital markets), and dedicated companies on the leasing, private pensions and housing banks' market. BCR is No. 1 in Romania on the saving and lending segments.