Introduction
The banking sector in the last two years has been impacted greatly by the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation led to emergence of various innovations and a new way of thinking in terms of the approach towards work. For instance, the Moroccan Central Bank adopted the idea of working at home which allowed protection of employees from infection while enabling them to maintain their jobs. This paper looks at the lessons to be learned from the Moroccan Central Bank.
Key Learnings in the Last Two years
Through the Moroccan Central Bank which has embraced digitalization, the banking sector can learn about upgrading existing processes or choose to introduce new methods of conducting activities with the use of digital technologies. In the last two years, the change has been witnessed in the form of customer experience and satisfaction (Bastari et al., 2020). The phenomenon has redefined the commercial procedures of the institution in the discussion. This has been through a rebuild of operations, relations with clients, and processes (Meena, 2019). Financial institutions should be inspired and alter their approaches to business (Harchekar, 2018). They can consider email marketing, online banking applications, data encryption, fraud detection systems, and virtual assistants.
Remote Inclusion
There are benefits that the Moroccan Central Bank is experiencing in the fiscal inclusion as well as the informal sector via shifting away from cash and advanced digitization of banking processes. This has enhanced the projections of inclusive economic growth and changed the banks’ communication and engagement with stakeholders (Derbali, 2021). While reaching out to new and untapped areas in remote surroundings, the financial institution in the last two years has continued to engage with existing clients (Machrafi and Machrafi, 2021). This should inspire other banks to embark on the uncharted territory by offering more flexibility to work away from other places that are not the office.
Corporate Social Responsibility
The Moroccan Central Bank has, in the last two years, proven that it cares for the environment and not only the profits made in the business. There are various ways an organization or institution can contribute to the betterment of the surroundings (Belasri et al., 2019). For instance, there are some that minimize the amount of damage they impart. This can be through going paperless or using finding ways to recycle waste (Lorena, 2018). Others choose to sponsor programs and initiatives aimed at environmental preservation and conservation. The financial institution in discussion is an example as it has funded various projects by different groups with similar intentions (Siueia et al., 2019). It is important for other banks to note that they have a responsibility towards the areas around them.
Financial Inclusion
While most people in Morocco can claim to earn a decent amount of money to provide for themselves and their families, there are those who work for the lowest wages and cannot access fiscal services. The Moroccan Central Bank has, in the last two years, been the leader in promoting financial inclusion whereby all people are guaranteed timely, proper, and inexpensive products (Abdullahi et al., 2021). This has enabled the institution to offer credit to even low-income groups at reasonable costs. Other banks can learn from this by creating packages that are affordable for different groups of people.
Cybersecurity
Financial institutions in the past several years have experienced an increase in the number of cases of fraud as well as identity theft. This has resulted in many of them losing much money and some declaring bankruptcy. In the last two years, the Moroccan Central Bank has offered them an example of how to improve their cyber security (Rodrigues et al., 2022). It has enforced multi-factor authentication for every user account in addition to measures such as account lockout and strong password policies to minimize the danger of compromise.
Impact on Innovation
The introduction of digitization has caused new thinking in terms of handling data. For instance, in the past, the majority of the financial institutions used manual means to record and store data that could be compromised. This has changed as most are utilizing electronic methods which not only reduce the likelihood of errors done by humans but ensure the safety of the client information. Additionally, they have adopted fraud detection systems to aid in preventing fraudulent activities (Btoush et al., 2021). This has reduced the rate at which banks lose money and declare bankruptcy and, thus, better customer experience and satisfaction (Boujaddaine and Taqi, 2021). Lastly, they have incorporated the online banking options that allow customers to transact even when they are physically away from the bank.
Since the pandemic started, most organizations opted for work at home programs that saw many of the employees in banks, especially the older ones, attend jobs remotely. This prompted the banking sector to start new thinking which is currently being applied. Many are now working from the comfort of their homes as it is not a must that someone is physically at the institution to offer the services they do. Additionally, systems such as virtual assistants and online banking applications have been introduced and resulted in much more transactions. Lastly, meetings are easier to conduct and do not need postponement when a member is not present. Organizations are achieving them virtually, which is better and needs less time for preparation and arrangement.
By the Moroccan Central Bank funding projects aimed at preserving and conserving the environment, it communicates to the rest of the financial institutions that they need to consider other approaches toward social responsibility. Banks have become better at understanding that they are responsible for the immediate surroundings and thus have reduced the amount of paper they use. Apart from that, the majority of them have started programs that seek to provide scholarship awards to the vulnerable groups in the community. Additionally, they are establishing ethical cultures whose purpose is to empower every employee to refer to business ethics in their actions.
Financial inclusion witnessed in the last two years by the Moroccan Central Bank has driven a new way of thinking as well as innovation in terms of different packages available now for the low-income earners. For a long time, many people from vulnerable groups could not access financial products or services such as credit (Ezzahid and Elouaourti, 2021). Currently, banks are giving loans at reasonable and affordable rates. They are empowering people from different social groups to create accounts and start their savings. Lastly, they are ensuring that they support businesses of low-income earners in the society.
In cybersecurity, banks have used the lessons gained in the promotion of different techniques to secure systems has led to the innovation of new methods. Examples include multi-factor authentication and fraud detection systems (Ogbanufe and Baham, 2022). Additionally, they have embraced the idea of hiring more technical employees to help in the security of the systems from attackers (Hanif and Lallie, 2021). Lastly, they have adopted systems that enable them to detect fraudulent activities.
Conclusion
The paper has provided lessons that can be learned from the Moroccan Central Bank and ways in which the learning is driving innovation and a new way of thinking. For instance, in cybersecurity, the financial institution has improved its measures to counter cyber-attacks. Banks have used this as motivation to adopt systems such as fraud detection systems and hire more technical individuals to help secure the customers’ data.
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