Ally Financial, a leading digital bank, is making significant strides towards consolidating its business lines and customer data to deliver personalized experiences to its customers. The initiative, called One Ally, aims to bring together all product lines, including checking accounts, auto loans, and investments, onto a single platform by the end of 2023. This consolidation will enable Ally to build and refine models that personalize interactions and effectively cross-sell products to existing customers.
The concept of One Ally aligns with the aspirations of many online-only banks, which are striving to offer multiple product lines. However, true multiproduct online-only banks are still relatively rare. While Ally’s core business revolves around auto loans, the company has diversified into other areas, such as credit card issuance through its acquisition of Fair Square Financial in 2021.
Sathish Muthukrishnan, Ally Financial’s Chief Information, Data, and Digital Officer, highlighted the importance of bringing all customers and products together as part of the One Ally journey. Instead of merely being a product company, Ally aims to become an experience company that caters to customers’ diverse needs, whether it be purchasing a home, securing reliable transportation, or growing wealth. By consolidating customer data from various business lines onto a unified technology platform, Ally will gain valuable insights into customer preferences and interactions.
To support the One Ally initiative, Ally Financial is simultaneously implementing a cloud computing strategy. The bank plans to migrate all applications to private and public clouds, including popular platforms like AWS and Microsoft Azure. Cloud computing has gained momentum in the banking sector, with a significant number of U.S. bank executives prioritizing cloud adoption in a recent survey.
Michael Miller, an equity analyst at Morningstar, emphasized the relevance of cloud transition for Ally’s expansion into diverse business lines. Unlike auto loans, which may not provide ample customer data for deeper insights, deposit and investment relationships offer a broader pool of data that can be harnessed effectively. Modernizing the infrastructure and network is crucial for consolidating customer data and ensuring the availability and resiliency of the unified platform.
Currently, the majority of Ally’s product lines, excluding auto loans, are accessible through a single sign-on and unified technology platform. The company aims to include auto loans in this integration by the end of 2023. Consolidating customer data in one place will enable Ally to personalize interactions by leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning models. These models will enhance cross-selling efforts, highlight relevant products or offers, and provide customers with a more tailored experience. Ally is also focused on enhancing customization options, allowing customers to choose the visibility and order of their accounts upon login.
Ally has already made progress in personalization and cross-selling, with a significant proportion of investing and mortgage customers initially starting as deposit customers. The bank has simplified the account-opening process, introducing one-click account opening for deposit customers looking to open additional accounts.
However, consolidating customer data poses technological challenges that Ally is proactively tackling. Muthukrishnan acknowledged the importance of modernizing infrastructure and network to support the single platform that spans various businesses. With increased availability and resiliency requirements, the platform must handle high volumes of transactions across multiple business lines without disruptions or downtime.
Ally Financial made significant strides towards consolidating its business lines and customer data for personalized experiences through its One Ally initiative. By integrating all product lines onto a single platform, the bank aims to deliver tailored experiences and enhance cross-selling efforts. The adoption of cloud computing further supports this initiative, ensuring high availability and resiliency. With a strong focus on personalization, Ally Financial is positioned to meet the evolving needs of its customers while consolidating its position as a leading digital bank.
