CTMfile doesn’t normally cover annual awards, nevertheless, we have made an exception here, as this must be a record that is unlikely to be beaten. CitiDirect BE®, Citi's institutional e-banking platform has been ranked number one in the Greenwich Associates’ Digital Banking Benchmarking study for the tenth consecutive year. Formerly known as the Online Services Benchmarking study, the study has evolved to digital and assesses "Best of Breed" features and functionality among online, mobile and direct integration channels, which differentiate treasury and cash management providers globally. 

2016 Greenwich Associates’ Digital Banking Benchmarking Study*

This year, Citi placed first in Asia, Europe and North America from a peer group of global and regional competitors.  In addition to being ranked the top provider globally, CitiDirect BE received the highest rating in the study across 22 categories, including:

• Usability/Ease of Use
• Portal Features
• Education and Training
• Online Help/Support
• User Administration/Entitlements
• Mobile Platform Access
• Integrated Payments/Workflow
• ACH/EFT/Non-urgent Payments
• Information Reporting
• Trade and Supply Chain Finance

Not surprisingly, Hubert JP Jolly, Global Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions' Channel and Enterprise Services business at Citi is chuffed, ”I am both proud and humbled that Greenwich Associates has again recognized Citi in a record number of categories. Each year this study reinforces Citi is executing the right strategy to deliver a market leading, omni-channel experience." And he continued (JP is never sort of something to say), “Incorporating client feedback into our products and adopting new, innovative solutions such as virtual tokens for authentication will continue to be our focus to deliver a continued improved client experience.” 

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* Conducted by Greenwich Associates, an independent research and consulting firm, the annual study evaluates online banking applications and scores them based on over 40 evaluation factors and 1,500 sub criteria. The study serves as a barometer of market trends and development priorities that can provide a forward-view of next-generation capabilities. Thirty-four banks and non-banks are evaluated in the study with the bank group consisting of elite global and regional peers in the transaction banking industry.

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CTMfile take: This is an impressive achievement because we know how much other banks are investing in their digital banking services. Even so, Citi’s services are not perfect, there are plenty of opportunities for other banks to take this top slot. Maybe they should set themselves a similar goal to that which Tim Cook at Apple seems to have set himself: “For Apple to create the technology that will serve your needs all day long and everywhere you go — the devices are simply the (excellently designed) doorway to that world.” I.e. Offer an elegantly simple, and easy to use doorway to total cash and treasury management.