The Innovators 2025: Central and Eastern Europe

Most Innovative Bank in Central and Eastern Europe| AKTIF INVESTMENT BANK

Aktif Investment Bank, Turkey’s largest privately owned inves tment bank, has applied AI to boost internal bank processes. In early 2025, the bank launched an AI-driven digital interview system that integrates realtime lip synchronization and natural conversation using ChatGPT. Lip synchronization makes the AI interviewer appear more lifelike and engaging.

The new platform reduces the high cost of traditional interviews by automating the screening process and minimizing the need for human intervention in the early stages of the recruitment process. It’s multilingual, too, allowing candidates to interview in their native language.

The bank has also implemented AI to detect fatigue among its call-center employees. Undetected worker burnout is a problem that plagues many call centers; and this new system utilizes deep learning for real-time facial-movement analysis—assessing microexpressions, smile frequency, and facial tension in real time. Managers can then take fast corrective actions.

Most Innovative Financial Technology Company in Central and Eastern Europe| INPOST PAY

Poland’s InPost Pay has developed an online app that streamlines customers’ online shopping experience by combining payments and deliveries on a single unified platform. Once customers register with InPost Pay, they can shop at multiple online stores without logging in at each store. They don’t have to select a payment option and a means of delivery each time either, because those preferences are saved within the system. Customers can edit their shopping cart purchases at their leisure too.

Studies have shown that 60% to 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned by consumers—a pain point for merchants and consumers.

InPost Pay claims to have lowered that rate substantially. InPost Pay acquired 3 million users in the first six months after the solution’s 2024 launch. The company expects to expand the service beyond Poland soon. 

Your Everyday Financial Companion Akbank Mobil: For You| AKBANK

In January, Turkey’s Akbank launched a revamped version of its mobile banking app with a new multi-dimensional ecosystem that integrates lifestyle elements, personalized insights, and partner-based capabilities. Utilizing AI, the app provides leads and insights in a range of areas including travel planning and household budgeting. Since the revamp, the app has had 4.8 million unique visitors, 214,700 of whom have become mobile active for the first time. Akbank reports that its gross profits have ballooned since the launch.

CSOB Mortgage with Digital Signature and Mortgage Zone| CSOB

CSOB has boosted its mortgage activity by applying an emerging technology to a local problem. Beginning in March, advanced electronic signature technology enables customers to sign mortgage and collateral agreements, completing a range of mortgage processes, without entering a bank branch.

The new tool saves significant time for mortgage applicants, too, because they no longer must deal separately with the Czech Republic’s land registry office. Everything can be done by mobile phone or on a home computer. More than one-third of CSOB’s mortgage activity is now completed using a qualified electronic signature.

Next-Generation Fraud Detection and Prevention System| KAPITAL BANK

Kapital Bank last year became Azerbaijan’s first financial institution to integrate advanced real-time monitoring and multi-layered cyber defense mechanisms for fraud prevention.

The new system applies 54 distinct prevention controls aligned with global standards for information security management systems. A 24/7 monitoring mechanism blocks attempted fraudulent actions before they can occur, shielding Kapital Bank’s 5 million-plus customers. Last year, the system thwarted 198,734 fraudulent transactions, double the previous year’s total, the bank reported.

Bancassurance| MAIB

MAIB last year became the Republic of Moldova’s first bank to fully integrate digital insurance with its bank offerings. Retail bank customers can now purchase credit protection insurance to cover loan installment payments in case of illness or job loss.

The entire process, from loan agreement to compensation, can be handled directly on the maibank mobile app, including vehicle and travel insurance coverage. MAIB worked with Donaris Vienna Insurance Group to make these sometimescomplex insurance products more understandable and accessible for bank customers.

RBI’s New Cash Management Digital Ecosystem| RBI

RBI has been a regional leader in adopting faster, more secure processes for electronic bank account management. Its new cash management system provides real-time updates and streamlined data reconciliation as first steps enroute to fully digitized management of all bank accounts.

RBI has also accelerated onboarding for its large international customers, including the New Yorker fashion chain, by bundling centralized treasury capabilities, plug-and-play API integration in SAP software solutions, and convenient account management.

Enhancing Slovak Call Center Customer Service with Fine-Tuned Whisper Model| TATRA BANKA

Tatra banka, a serial innovator, has developed a new customized speech-to-text model for transcribing call-center recordings. Developed by the Slovakia-based bank’s advanced analytics department, the service leverages generative AI and was fine-tuned on the bank’s own internal speech data.

Tatra banka’s aim was to extract information, dates, and account amounts. The system automatically records who called, the date, and reason for the call, as well as the size of the caller’s bank account(s). The model also analyzes text transcriptions to gain insights into customer concerns using Whisper, an open-source automatic speech recognition system the bank customized for its own speech-to-text needs.