For many years, Armenia’s banking sector operated like an unique membership—formal, corporate-focused, and resistant to alter. Conventional establishments catered primarily to massive companies, leaving on a regular basis prospects with outdated processes and restricted entry.
Vazgen Gevorkyan entered the {industry} with a special perspective: what if banking genuinely served folks? His contributions at Evocabank didn’t simply modernize one establishment—they helped shift expectations throughout the whole sector.
Breaking Conventional Obstacles
By the mid-2010s, Armenian banking had developed a troubling imbalance. When market analysis was performed in 2014–2015, outcomes revealed a transparent disconnect between banks and particular person prospects. Residents usually felt neglected, whereas establishments prioritized company relationships. Even Mr. Gevorkyan’s financial institution was perceived as primarily a “company financial institution.”
The analysis additionally confirmed that folks had been spending extra time on their telephones than in bodily branches. Purchasers needed comfort and accessibility via digital channels. For Mr. Gevorkyan, this signaled the necessity for a broader rethink: development would come not simply from new advertising and marketing, however from reimagining the whole buyer expertise. Out of this got here the “Cellular First” idea—guaranteeing that banking companies may very well be delivered shortly, merely, and reliably via cellular units.
Expertise as an Equalizer
The shift was not nearly introducing new instruments however about rethinking what know-how might obtain for society. Whereas some establishments handled apps as optionally available extras, Evocabank launched EvocaTouch, a common fee system accessible to anybody with any financial institution card. Its design was rooted in inclusivity, aiming to serve residents broadly, not simply present shoppers.
The platform enabled 24-hour performance—from one-click, commission-free fantastic funds to multi-device workflows that allowed accountants, monetary administrators, and CEOs to collaborate seamlessly. By making superior instruments extensively out there, Mr. Gevorkyan and his colleagues helped flip know-how right into a bridge connecting people and companies.
The Human Component
Whilst digital companies expanded, Mr. Gevorkyan emphasised cultural sensitivity. Many purchasers nonetheless valued face-to-face interactions, so the financial institution developed a hybrid mannequin: cellular purposes on the heart of each day transactions, supported by redesigned branches for complicated wants. These branches had been reimagined as welcoming areas, with professionals skilled to embody values of honesty, transparency, and reliability.
As Mr. Gevorkyan described it, this was not simply digital transformation, however a “rebranding of ideas, minds, and approaches to enterprise.” The evolution mirrored a philosophy the place innovation was guided by accessibility, simplicity, and belief. Initiatives additionally prolonged into social duty, with packages supporting girls’s entrepreneurship and pupil growth alternatives that fostered better monetary inclusion.
Constructing Sustainable Benefits
The transformation laid a basis that opponents struggled to copy. Digital innovation was pursued early, lengthy earlier than it turned widespread, and all the time framed as important for long-term progress fairly than a brief benefit. On the identical time, know-how was solely a part of the change—embedding core values was equally vital.
Reliability, innovation, honesty, and steady enchancment turned guiding rules. Even after the establishment obtained a number of worldwide awards, the emphasis remained on refining companies and responsibly aligning with the worldwide monetary system via partnerships with networks reminiscent of SWIFT and MasterCard Europe.
This human-centered mannequin made buyer expertise the true measure of success. The target was not merely modernization, however making life simpler and serving to folks entry alternatives in an more and more interconnected world.
Aggressive Recognition and Business Impression
Evocabank turned widely known for its digital presence and consumer engagement. Worldwide publications, together with World Finance, repeatedly named it the nation’s greatest digital financial institution—acknowledging each its progress and its consistency.
Maybe probably the most enduring influence of Mr. Gevorkyan’s tenure was industry-wide. His advocacy of mobile-first banking set new benchmarks throughout Armenia, turning digital entry and customer-centered service into expectations fairly than luxuries. Competing banks had been compelled to speed up their very own modernization efforts, collectively elevating the usual of service.
By the point Mr. Gevorkyan stepped again in 2020, he had contributed not solely to the transformation of a single establishment but additionally to a broader cultural and technological shift inside the sector. His work demonstrated that considerate adoption of know-how, guided by values and social duty, can redefine how folks expertise finance.
Biography
- Born: June 5, 1971, Armenia
- Training:
- Yerevan State College – Geology diploma (1993)
- Academy of Nationwide Economic system – Administration research (1998)
- Academy of Nationwide Economic system – Economics PhD (2003)
- Academy of Nationwide Economic system – MBA in Banking (2004)
- Different actions:
- Former shareholder and developer of LES Artwork Resort resort complicated (2007–2023)
- Supplies mentorship to younger entrepreneurs
