Deutsche Bank promises Postbank customers better service and faster problem solving in the upcoming third wave of technology conversion. “We are tripling the capacities in the call centers. In addition to the migration itself, this was a major challenge in January: At times we had waiting times in the call centers that were too long,” said Karsten Roesch, one of the project managers, to the German press -Agency.
The penultimate step in the transfer of customer data from Postbank, which belongs to the Deutsche Bank Group, to a shared IT platform is planned for Friday through Monday. During the most recent step around the turn of the year, customers had been complaining about major problems in online banking for days.
Customers have to be prepared for restrictions again, as Postbank explains on its website: From Friday 5 p.m. to Monday 9 a.m. or 2 p.m., banking transactions are not possible using the Postbank app via smartphone or online on your home computer or by phone. It will not be possible to withdraw cash from Postbank ATMs during the changeover.
Big project
Measured by the number of customers, the forthcoming wave is the largest: data from around five million Postbank customers will be brought to the common platform: current accounts, call money and time deposits, as well as savings products. “We have almost 3,000 employees on the project, around 1,000 of whom will be working in shifts around the clock, 72 hours a day this coming weekend,” explained IT manager Stefan Peschke.
With credit cards, it can happen that customers cannot see their sales for up to ten days as a result of the data move. “The credit card can usually always be used, there are hardly any restrictions,” emphasized project manager Roesch. “It’s the viewing of balances and transactions that only works afterwards.”
The aim of the “Unity” project is to bring twelve million Postbank customers together with seven million Deutsche Bank customers in Germany on one IT platform. Deutsche Bank wants to save 300 million euros per year from 2025 onwards. The migration should be completed by mid-2023. Then there are still two million customers and around four million contracts to be transferred: corporate customer business, construction financing and installment loans. “Our goal is to return Postbank’s data center to a clean sweep, so to speak,” said Peschke. “Everything that’s there will be migrated, and then we won’t need that data center anymore.”
