Scotiabank is announcing a significant milestone in its digital transformation, with the development of a new Digital Factory that will pursue, design and deliver digital innovations and solutions for the Bank's customers.

Scotiabank's Digital Factory will house more than 350 jobs for top technology talent under one enterprise-wide mission: to help Scotiabank provide a seamless, personalized experience to its customers, so they can be served how, when and where they want. Scotiabank, through its Digital Factory, will play a leading role in redefining banking for the digital age.

When fully operational in mid-2016, the Digital Factory will bring together a network of teams, all focused on transforming the way the Bank delivers service to its customers globally. This work has already begun, for example in three customer-driven innovation labs -- coined Rapid Labs -- in which joint business and technology teams work to reimagine key experiences to make banking easier for customers and our employees who serve them. The Bank's first Rapid Lab brought Scotiabankers together to improve the mortgage customer application process -- with the solution currently being tested in a number of branches.

Technology is advancing quickly and shifting customers' expectations of their banks. For example, over half of Canadians' monthly interactions with a bank are through digital channels. In order to deliver the quality of service customers demand in an increasingly digital economy, banks need to transform the way they deliver solutions. That includes not only hiring top talent, but collaborating with unique partners.

Scotiabank's Digital Factory will serve as a hub for co-creation and incubation of new Scotiabank and partner-led ideas to deliver world-class customer solutions enhanced through digital channels.

Quick Facts

 -- Scotiabank's Digital Factory creates a new epicenter where top technology minds from around the world will come together to deliver reimagined customer experiences in financial services. -- Designed as an innovation hub, Scotiabank's Digital Factory will serve as a place where the Bank can collaborate and partner with FinTech providers and start-ups. -- Scotiabank's Digital Factory will be in a distinct building in Toronto's downtown core, housing a team of more than 350 employees, including newly created roles in areas such as: -- User interface and user experience designers; -- Agile practitioners, such as scrum masters, agile coaches and solution architects; and, -- Data scientists and other advanced analytics specialists. -- In 2012, Scotiabank acquired Tangerine, recognizing its industry leadership in delivering a simple, seamless, digitally enabled customer experience. In 2014, Tangerine was the first bank in Canada to launch biometric authentication through Voice Banking and Touch IDa"c for its Mobile Banking app. Tangerine is now investing further in biometric authentication by exploring facial recognition technology. -- Scotiabank recently made a $1 million donation to Saint Mary's University towards the Scotiabank Professorship in Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation. -- Individuals interested in working at Scotiabank's Digital Factory can email DigitalFactory@Scotiabank.com for more information. 

Quotes

"We serve 21 million customers globally and their lives and expectations are changing quickly, so their banking experience must too. Scotiabank's Digital Factory will create an environment where our teams can be flexible, adventurous, empowered and challenged to design and deliver a game-changing customer experience. We are excited to engage top technology minds to help us deliver on that experience."

-- Michael Zerbs, Executive Vice President and Co-Head, Information Technology

"Through Scotiabank's Digital Factory, we will hire in key areas to support customer-driven innovation and play a leading role in the revolution of banking. Technology's role in delivering a superior customer experience will define banking for the next five to 10 years, and we have the opportunity to create an organization that will influence how that unfolds, right here and right now."

-- Kyle McNamara, Executive Vice President and Co-Head, Information Technology

"When people think about working at a bank, they typically think about the branch. But customers interact with banks in so many other ways -- on their phones, through tablets and online. That is why the development of the Digital Factory excites me. In the Rapid Labs we are working collaboratively in real time with teammates from different backgrounds to constantly push our boundaries and find the right solutions for our customers. The energy is extremely high, and it's amazing to see what we can accomplish together."

-- Monica Reyes, Rapid Lab team member