Digitalization is today a major force for economic development and for increasing well-being. Digital processes reduce costs, increase productivity, are more secure, and have a direct impact on the competitiveness of businesses and the expansion of national economies.

The pandemic made us discover even more deeply the opportunities that digitalization offers and its importance in improving services, saving time and costs. Mobile applications or a well-built and user-friendly website makes it possible for business operations to continue in any circumstance and for the public to receive uninterrupted access to products and services.

A study by the World Bank and the Bank of Albania has shown that every Albanian spends on average about 42 minutes to wait in line and complete a transaction at a payment office, and about 29 minutes in line at a bank branch. According to the same study, the cost of cash transactions in the Albanian economy amounts to about 1.7% of GDP.

Nowadays, Fintech is the most innovative model of financial services. Thanks to the opportunities offered by digitalization, financial technology companies offer faster and more practical services than ever before, at lower costs.

In Albania, consumer microfinance is a pioneer in using technology to facilitate access to financial services. IuteCredit brought a revolution in the access of the Albanian consumer to these services. If once getting a small loan required several days, IuteCredit is the first financial institution in Albania that has enabled the online process from application to approval in only 7 minutes, to proceed then with the physical disbursement of funds. Furthermore, through the MyIute application, the client can manage the online loan 24 hours a day, from the application moment to the withdrawal of money, as well as getting information in real time about the status of the loan. You can learn more about the application at www.iutecredit.al/myiute-app/

The pandemic made us realize that many of the payments we used to make taking the way to the physical branches could be made very simply from home, via the internet or various applications.

The loan repayment can be done just as easily from home. Statistics from the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority show that about two million Albanians use broadband internet from their mobile phones.

Digitalization will bring faster access to finance and save a lot of time for consumers, time that we can use to increase productivity at work, but also for a higher quality of life.