Digital Transformation and Fintech Strategies of Citigroup

The study covers the digital transformation initiatives of Citigroup Inc. which offers financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions across 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citigroup was founded in 1812 in New York and has since then expanded aggressively to offer numerous financial products to cater to the full stack of the market.

It is apparent that digital evolution and emerging Fintech startups are changing customer expectations and transforming the whole competitive landscape of the financial services industry. Traditional financial institutions have to transform and embrace digital disruption to prevent new entrants and startups from encroaching on their territories and impacting their revenue streams. In the study, Citigroup's digital transformation strategies and initiatives to thrive in this ever-evolving digital business landscape are presented.

Citigroup is constantly striving to expand its digital capabilities and improve its digital offerings to attain a competitive edge over its traditional competitors such as, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp, and Wells Fargo & Co as well as new competitors such as Amazon who has been foraying into the banking sector.

In the current digital era, technology is at the heart of Citigroup’s digital transformation blueprint. It identifies, evaluates, invests, develops and implements new cutting-edge technologies such as Blockchain, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Robotics. We investigated these technologies and how they are incorporated and assimilated into Citigroup’s business processes and systems. We also deep dived into Citigroup’s mobile-first strategic approach in addition to its newly transformed mobile banking experience and represented it in the simplest possible way.

We have also looked at Citigroup’s organizational structure in relation to digital transformation in addition to how these “digital units” execute and achieve their mission to drive Citigroup to become the world’s leading digital bank. Citigroup has also set up a global network of Innovation Labs across the globe to develop next-generation financial innovations by leveraging new technologies. The strong base of labs also acts as a client experience and collaboration center for them to “test drive” Citigroup’s latest digital offerings. We have also further explored the Fintech synergies, engagements, partnerships and collaborations formed by Citigroup.

Finally, we have handpicked key points that traditional market participants such as financial institutions can learn from Citigroup. These recommendations are pinpointed and will get traditional market participants to start thinking about embracing the Fintech wave and help them defend their market from disruption.

We have added an executive summary that brings all of this together in a crisp form, to help busy executives get the gist of the study and then read sections in detail that matter to them.