BCP powers its financial inclusion plan for millions of users with Azure

With 134 years of history, Banco de Crédito del Perú is one of Peru’s largest financial services providers and the main subsidiary of the Credicorp holding. Its network of more than 11,800 touchpoints and multiple digital channels serves its more than 13 million customers, positioning it as one of the most valuable brands in Peru with a market share of 30% in deposits and placements.

Eight years ago, after a thorough evaluation, the BCP chose Azure to accelerate its digital transformation, primarily because of the flexibility cloud technology provides.

Azure for financial inclusion

One of the pillars of BCP is based on financial inclusion and the ability of cloud technology to develop solutions that make people’s lives easier. David Villavicencio, Manager of Technological Strategy and Innovation at the bank, comments: “The flexibility provided by the cloud is a core quality for a unique experience based on a simpler, more agile, and closer service, bolstering bank services with our technology solutions and facilitating the lives of millions of people.”

Through agile methodologies, the company managed to host its main financial inclusion projects in the cloud, thus being able to introduce digital innovation in the processes carried out by its customers. Today its main digital channels reside in the Microsoft Cloud, including Mobile Banking, the Yape e-wallet, and the Enterprise Portal, among others.

One case to highlight is Yape, which came about in 2016 as a strategy to reduce cash usage in society and which in 2020 decided to use the Azure cloud, starting with 2 million Yape users and 2.7 million transactions per month. Three years later, there are 12 million Yape users and 170 million transactions per month. David Villavicencio states: “Thanks to Azure, we can provide our customers with the most innovative experience with scalability and confidence in their operations.”

Ivan Contreras, leader of the Center of Cloud Excellence, says: “We want the BCP to be a technology company that provides financial services, and we see the cloud as a great enabler for that.”

In recent years, BCP solutions have become so popular with Peruvian citizens that millions of new users use them. “Since 2020, the number of users of our apps has tripled. It was the Microsoft Cloud features that enabled us to successfully meet this high demand for new customers,” recalls Jose Lara, Cloud Chapter Leader.

For the BCP, digitization is an enabler for financial inclusion, where 51% of monetary transactions and 34% of sales are digital, as well as 71% of loans, which were disbursed via non-traditional channels.

The green future of digital banking

Sustainability is a key objective for the BCP. So, on its environmental front, it seeks to develop and offer financial products that encourage its customers to reduce socio-environmental impact and their exposure to climate change. For its part, the bank internally promotes multiple Green initiatives, including energy saving in agencies with the use of solar panels, promoting its on-premises Computer Centers to have rigorous controls of their emissions to reduce their carbon footprint, as well as the use of cloud solutions that have certifications that demonstrate efficiency when it comes to caring for the environment.

Creating awareness of the risks of climate change and of pollution is essential to the bank. “In addition to being socially engaged, the BCP is one of the companies with the greenest initiatives and projects in the country, helping create a positive impact on the environment, society, and future generations,” concludes David Villavicencio.