NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Citigroup has launched a unit in its global consumer bank dedicated to the development of its mobile banking services and promoted Heather Cox to be its CEO.

The division, called Citi FinTech, is in front of a reorganizing effort that will help the business move to a "smartphone-centric business model," Stephen Bird, CEO of global consumer banking, said in a staff memo Friday. It will strive to create and improve mobile-first capabilities across its range of client services, including borrowing and investing.

Bird framed the move as a revolution, meant to reflect the changing behavior of consumers.

"The world's consumers have converted to mobile and competitors are everywhere," he said. "We must act boldly to prepare our business for this new environment and the future opportunities of an 'always on' world. Today, we are taking a bold step in the Revolution of our business model."