Accenture Buys International Consultancy To Help Banks Build Digital Capabilities

Channel giant Accenture has acquired London-based consultancy Allen International to help its banking clients reinvent their physical branches with new digital networks and digital capabilities.

The Dublin-based company, No. 2 on the 2016 CRN Solution Provider 500 list, said Allen will help banks transform their digital offerings and networks in their branches to reduce costs, increase revenues and better engage customers.

"Our acquisition of Allen International will expand and complement our capabilities to help banks make the branch a physical manifestation of the digital experience," Sushil Saluja, Accenture Senior Managing Director said in a statement.

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He added banks have to clearly understand what the role and value of their branches are so they can be sure that it fits best into their customer's lives.

The acquisition of Allen will give Accenture the tools to help banks for banks reduce their distribution costs by an average of 30 percent, while still maintaining customer engagement, he said.

Accenture will also benefit from Allen's history in the vertical, he said, noting that the company has worked with more than 350 banks around the world.

This acquisition strengthens Accenture’s current distribution transformation offering, which analyzes how banks interact with its customers, according to a statement from Accenture.

Accenture has been working with banks to help them transform physical locations and branches by providing the kind of interactive, multimedia experience consumers are beginning to expect. Banks need to ensure they have the appropriate digital capabilities to handle the demands of customers that prefer online to in-person interactions.

Combining Accenture’s deep financial services, distribution and marketing expertise and scalability with Allen International’s digital and physical banking experience will enable banks across Europe to optimize branch networks strategically.

However, Accenture also reported that although many customers utilize digital services offered by their banks, nearly 70 percent of banking customers still rely on physical bank branches to make decisions about their money according to a study Accenture published in 2015.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

This acquisition was Accenture's twentieth in the last 12 months, with a heavy focus on security, vertical practices and growing capabilities around Salesforce. This acquisition is the company's eighth digital transformation consultancy acquisition within the last 12 months.