Deutsche Bank has announced it has completed the fourth and final phase of its long-running Postbank technology integration.
The German banking giant said the finalization of its IT platform merger will deliver cost savings in 2023 and 2024, as well as annual savings of €300 million ($326.52 million) from 2025 onwards.
Deutsche Bank has been working on its acquisition of Postbank since 2008, working to take on its banking rival’s client base and connections to the country’s postal system.
In 2010, Deutsche Bank won majority control to become Germany’s largest retail bank, before completing the acquisition in 2012 for a reported total of €6 billion ($6.54 billion - 2023 conversion).
The bank revealed it has now completed its final wave of its IT platform merger over the weekend, which saw 4 million contracts tied to 2 million Postbank customers transferred across to its IT system.
Many customers were temporarily unable to access the normal range of services as the process was carried out.
With customers now benefiting from the new system, Deutsche Bank is now working to decommission Postbank hardware and software, which it says will contribute towards the overall expected cost savings.
Migration issues
Deutsche Bank’s long-running Postbank merger has not been without its issues, particularly since implementing plans to shift Postbank’s technology to a new IT platform.
Back in January, the Berliner Kurier reported that the second wave of customer migrations had led to numerous issues, including customer reports of online transfers not working, telephone banking being unable to be activated online, as well as statement printing issues.
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Customers also reportedly experienced error messages when accessing the online message box, with the bank reportedly only being reachable by phone during that time.
As reported by the German news outlet, disgruntled customers took to internet forums to share their anger and frustration at both the design and function of the new online setup.
"I haven't been able to use online banking for 14 days," wrote one customer, while another said all of their details had seemingly vanished: “My account just disappeared and no one knows why. My money is somehow gone, too. I can't even see my bank balance”.
"Out of five attempts to make a transfer by phone, I have to cancel four times because there are problems with the voice computer,” said another. “Then you are switched through to the employee and get the announcement that the system is overloaded. Thanks to the high volume of calls, no processing can take place. After 50 years, I'm going to change now."
A spokesperson for Deutsche Bank told the Kurier at the time that, to keep customer impact at a minimum, further waves would only be carried out on public holidays or weekends.
However, customers have continued to leave critical, one-star reviews of Postbank on TrustPilot as the IT migration continued through its final phases.
Overall, Deutsche Bank says its now-completed IT conversion process has included the transfer of around 19 million Postbank contracts to its IT platform.
