More client interactions, less paper – thanks to the e-vault and the e-mailbox in the BEKB client portal.
Denise Hochstrasser
Key Account Manager
Phone: +41 44 515 67 80
Berner Kantonalbank (BEKB) has been providing its clients with e-vaults and digital mailboxes based on DSwiss technologies since 2021.
The challenge
Online banking is now common practice across all age groups. As a universal bank, BEKB addresses very diverse customer groups from children to senior citizens and from digitally inexperienced clients to digital natives. Their expectations of online banking are shaped by their experience with the digital offerings of tech giants such as Google or Facebook or the intuitive workings of Apple products. Clients want "simple" e-banking without all the "bells and whistles". They expect previous over-the-counter interactions to now be digitally mapped, and bank documents such as account statements or tax papers to be electronically accessible. And due to the increasing digitalisation of all business processes, the need for a secure repository for important data such as digital documents or passwords is rapidly growing.
"One of the biggest challenges is balancing security and simplicity. The solutions must meet the highest security standards and still remain as customer-friendly and intuitive as possible," explains Leila Moser, specialist for business area development at BEKB. "DSwiss too implements this high security standard, while at the same time proposing exciting new avenues for development that coincide with BEKB's ideas." And this is precisely why BEKB commissioned DSwiss to develop a solution with its e-vault and digital mailbox.
Save paper and costs with digital mailboxes
The digital mailboxes enable BEKB to transfer hundreds of thousands of files to its clients with end-to-end encryption in a very short time. "Almost all of our documents can therefore be electronically delivered to our clients. We save paper and energy, and the client saves on postage," states Leila Moser from BEKB.
The handling of bank documents is thus made easier, bringing great benefits not only to BEKB’s private clients but above all its corporate clients. This is because extensive filter options support them in their search for specific documents, which are now stored in the digital mailboxes for ten years. And this also means that BEKB's digital mailbox complies with the legal retention periods for business documents and that paper printouts for physical archiving are no longer necessary.
More client interactions through the e-vault
The e-vault is where BEKB clients keep their passwords and important documents, for example scanned passports, vaccination cards or graduation certificates. "We support all efforts to intensify our interaction with the client," says Leila Moser. "This has been firmly anchored in our 2025 Strategy. The e-vault may be another reason for our clients to regularly use the client portal, also as a means of getting in touch with us." BEKB also uses the integrated password manager as a tool to encourage its clients to interact with the brand every day.
Privacy protection according to the zero-knowledge principle
DSwiss products are characterised by special protection mechanisms designed to safeguard users’ privacy. In line with the zero-knowledge principle, users' data and files are encrypted in such a way that neither DSwiss developers nor BEKB administrators can read them. This means that BEKB client data is particularly protected against misuse.
The effects
The digital mailboxes have restructured the way documents are delivered at BEKB and, in particular, have simplified the process of sending information. Clients can continue to receive correspondence by traditional post if they wish. However, most new clients follow the default setting of receiving their mail only digitally.
The e-vault is enjoying a slowly but steadily growing user group. Although no specific communication measures have been taken so far, the e-vault has succeeded in attracting online-savvy users.
