Meniga’s Egill Ingólfsson & BCG’s Michal Panowicz on Making Bank Personalisation Work

Bank personalisation strategies are increasingly crucial for financial institutions aiming to deliver tailored customer experiences. In this interview, Meniga’s Egill Ingólfsson and BCG’s Michal Panowicz explain what makes personalisation work—from real-time data usage to scalable AI models. Read on to learn how banks are transforming engagement and loyalty.

Egill kicks things off by saying that real personalisation needs access to all kinds of data—past info, current info, future predictions, and data from various systems. This is tough for traditional banks because they usually have many separate IT systems that don’t talk to each other. He shares a story about his brother, who got a loan offer from his bank just days after getting a loan approved. Instead of feeling valued by his financial institution, his brother felt ignored, which displays how poor data integration can break trust instead of building it.

He emphasizes that it’s not just about having the latest data; it’s about mixing it with past experiences and predicting future behavior. When financial institutions get it right, it not only boosts engagement but also stops banks from sending irrelevant messages to customers. These bank personalisation strategies help financial institutions build stronger, data-driven relationships that increase loyalty and long-term value.

Michal adds to this by mentioning that almost every project BCG does with banks focuses on improving their data capabilities. From the customer’s point of view, the real benefit is making it easier to track everyday spending – such as when family members share cards or set up direct debits, it can get tricky to see where the money goes. Having clear transaction categorisation makes it easier for users to manage their expenses, save more, and qualify for loans.

He also talks about how the idea of personalisation has changed. Before, a good bank advisor could pick up on what a customer needed through conversation. Now, in the digital world, banks need to deliver that experience through smart insights in mobile apps.

As the discussion shows, investing in modern bank personalisation strategies is no longer optional—it’s a competitive necessity. The goal is for financial institutions to give helpful advice and suggestions that feel useful and if done well, data-driven personalisation can help customers save better, borrow more responsibly, and invest with confidence.