Canvas

Citi is so much into fintech these days that they have an entirely separate Citi Fintech division, which was launched in 2015 to facilitate the bank moving toward a "smartphone-centric business model." They also regularly hold fintech meetups in Miami and Hong Kong, looking for "local developers and financial leaders (to) come together to foster FinTech development and innovation within their communities". Today, they announced a new beta testing directive that will enable customers to help them co-create products for financial wellness. We think its' an interesting progression, and a smart way to roll out products that the public helps design and validate. We just say, that in doing so, remember the story of the Ford Edsel, and remember that just because people tell you they want something, that doesn't mean they will ultimately buy it. Still, we applaud this interesting new initiative from Citi.

(Cindy Taylor/Publisher)


NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Citi today unveiled a groundbreaking beta-testing community, called Canvas Designed by Citi?, that enables customers to co-create products and digital capabilities that promote their financial wellness. This new beta-testing community will use data across a customer's full financial relationships to design and deliver insights and solutions that improve financial wellness.

“The customer is at the heart of everything we do and Canvas takes co-creation to the next level,” said Yolande Piazza, CEO of Citi FinTech. “This new beta-testing community is a platform for customers to test live solutions in real-world conditions that improve their financial wellness. Our goal is to help our customers reach their financial goals by delivering a holistic view of their financial lives right in the palm of their hand.”

Canvas Designed by Citi enables customers to shape the creation process and easily share feedback, supplementing Citi’s existing co-creation programs which have led to the launch of a series of industry-leading mobile capabilities and customer experience enhancements. Through this new beta-testing community, customers simply register to access and test solutions. Initial tests will focus on helping customers classify and visualize their spending versus their income, and offering advice to help them reach their financial goals. New tests will be released on a regular basis, and registered community members who are selected to participate will be notified. Depending on feedback received from the community, solutions may be iterated and retested, discarded, or put into production to be rolled out live to customers. More information on the status of each test will be available on the Canvas website.

“This beta community is among the first of its kind to be launched by a bank and we are excited to add Canvas to our customer co-creation and open banking programs,” said Carey Kolaja, Global Chief Product Officer, Citi FinTech. “By delivering a comprehensive view of our customers’ financial lives across all their banking relationships, Canvas is designed to empower customers to test, collaborate, and influence the latest Citi ideas benefiting their financial wellness while enabling Citi to continuously test new ideas, partnerships, and business models.”

The Canvas beta-testing community is open to Citi customers who want to take an active role in trying what’s new and innovative at Citi. To apply to join, visit canvas.citi.com.