How Truist Is Going All In on Its Brand-New Tech Centre and Innovation Lab

We all know how important digital technology is in the modern world of banking. Whether a customer is engaging with your bank brand in person at a brick-and-mortar location or on a smartphone, you need to make sure the technology is there to make their experience as enjoyable and hassle free as humanly possible.

This fact is leading many banking brands to funnel significant portions of their investment budgets into developing new technology driven methods of doing business. However, it’s difficult to know whether you are on the right track, without solid means of researching and testing new technological innovations.

It is this need which is driving many banks to invest in proprietary innovation labs and tech centers. These locations provide an elegant method of developing and testing new technologies and business practices in an environment where real customers can be engaged, and valid and reliable data can be generated.

Only formed in 2019 as a result of a merger between BB&T and SunTrust banks, Truist might be one of the newer players on the block. However, the Charlotte, North Carolina bank holding company is now making waves with a new technology center and innovation lab.

Truist

Designed around a desire to fuse tech and finance, the new 10,000 foot banking innovation and technology center has been built at Truist’s headquarters in uptown Charlotte.

"The new Truist Innovation and Technology Center is ultimately all about our clients—a unique space that brings together direct client input with some of the best and brightest talent in the industry to build an innovative ecosystem that will propel Truist into the future," said Chief Information Officer, Scott Case in a press release. "As our cross-functional teams come together with clients, fintechs and large tech companies to reimagine banking experiences through listening and empathy, we're fulfilling our purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities."

Taking up the space of two full-sized football fields, the new tech and innovation center will serve as a research lab and collaboration hub for engineers, designers, and customers to build a better banking experience which can benefit all stakeholders in the Truist value chain. From fintech application to customer experience focused technologies, nothing is off the table when it comes to the mission of the new center.

Some zones of the tech and innovation center include:

• Client Journey Rooms – Each Client Journey Room is dedicated to gaining greater insight into ever-evolving client needs—from everyday personal banking to the more intricate requirements of Wealth clients and businesses of all types and sizes—to create better banking experiences.
• Makers Space – Truist teammates build prototypes in these spaces to test and refine new products and services.
• Reality Lab – Inside the lab, the focus is on using virtual and augmented reality technology to create the future of banking.
• Contact Center – Inside this 18-person call center engineers, designers and product owners connect with call center agents to get instant feedback directly from clients on their experiences.
• Tree Houses – These innovative spaces showcase prototypes that allow guests to explore new possibilities that emerging technologies can create.
• The Park – A space where teammates can meet to discuss a project or find tranquility. It resembles a community park with plenty of greenery, natural light, and swings to help spark creativity and drive innovation.

As you can see, there are many different technologies and ideas being experimented with at the Truist innovation and tech center and the entire space is set up to promote a relaxed and collaborative atmosphere where people’s imaginations can take flight and produce incredible and creative ideas for the future of the banking business.

"We're accelerating innovation through co-creation combined with cutting-edge technology to design experiences that wow our clients," said Divisional CIO and Experience Officer, Ken Meyer. "By leveraging the most modern capabilities and solutions, we will advance innovative and ground-breaking projects that attract top talent and external partners."

Residence Program

The ITC will also be the home base for the Innovators in Residence program, a partnership which counts such big brands as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Verizon, and Unqork among its founders. The goal of the program is to bring together experts from tech giants and startups to collaborate on and explore new and emerging technologies to help address longstanding financial and community challenges.

"Innovators in Residence will tap the capabilities of some of the most innovative companies in the world to help clients and the broader financial services industry explore new opportunities for the future," said Vice President, AWS America, East General Manager, Michael Pinto. "We're excited to bring AWS's expertise to help accelerate innovation using new cloud technologies as a founding supporter with Truist in this project."

"The demand for digital experiences has altered the business landscape," added Sampath Sowmyanarayan, Chief Executive Officer, Verizon Business. "The ability to innovate to stay ahead of demand is essential for success. Truist is a like-minded partner with a desire to drive change, and the Innovators in Residence program and this partner ecosystem will serve as the proving ground for delivering positive outcomes for businesses, consumers and communities."

The residence program and the innovation center as a whole is already hard at work producing the next generations of banking technology and customer experience developments, and it will likely be one to watch in the future.

Final Thoughts

Technology and innovation don’t happen in a vacuum and the onus is one all stakeholders in the banking space to work to take the industry into its next stage of evolution. There is a sore need for fresh talent in the space and centers such as the one recently opened by Truist are just one cog in the machine which propels the banking business forwards.

We can’t wait to see what comes out of Truist over the next few years and will be watching other players in the space for their own developments as well.

Technology and innovation are sure to be part of the conversation at Future Branches Boston, being held in June at The Westin Copley Place, Boston, MA.

Download the agenda today for more information and insights.