Damai Taribuka

Digital & Innovation

Everyone should be able to do their banking online

“As Product Owner, you are responsible for a certain product, which in my case is the front end of internet banking for private individuals. Specifically, this means that I work with three development teams in India, which I manage in terms of content. I am actually the link between the technical side of our payment platform and the needs of our colleagues and clients. I prioritise new wishes for the developers, and I translate technical opportunities and obstacles back to the rest of the organisation.”

Digital banking: increasingly reliable, faster and more accessible

“We are currently working on a very large project to future-proof internet banking and migrate lots of applications to the cloud. In the end, this will make it easier and faster for us to change things later and take them live for clients. We can make things easier when legislation changes and for clients with little technological affinity. What's more, everyone will be able to do their banking even faster and more easily.”

From internship to full-time job

“I started at ABN AMRO with an internship for my bachelor's degree in Communication Sciences. I was a client of the bank myself and I saw a vacancy and thought: I know that brand a little, so why not give it a try. When I started my Masters degree, I got a call from my former internship supervisor asking whether I wanted to come in for an interview for the position of Junior HR Consultant. I did that a few days a week alongside my Masters degree in Digital Business.”

“Even before I received my degree, I was having coffee with a manager at Retail Banking – the banking unit where I still work. Sometimes, my friends are still surprised that I'm working for a bank, because it all started with an internship. I understand that my job may seem boring at first, but banks are becoming more like IT companies and there is a lot of space for innovation. It has to be that way, because so much is happening in the field of financial services.”

Just like a new school

“ABN AMRO is a large organisation, which may take some getting used to initially. But I think my career at the bank also shows how great it can be. You're just one cup of coffee away from useful connections and fantastic career opportunities. You could almost compare the bank to a large school. It can overwhelm you, but working with so many different people also means that the chances of creating a personal or professional click are high.”

Personal development has never been easier

“You get all the space you need to develop and you are encouraged to use it. You could take a training course or programme, for example. The options are endless, as long as it contributes to your personal or professional development. And it's also very well organised: there's a huge range of learning opportunities for you to choose from.”

Digital House

“When I go to the office, I'm usually in the Digital House at our site in Amsterdam-Zuidoost. It's an open, welcoming space with a coffee bar, cubicles for individual work and a robot on wheels that allows you to reserve meeting rooms. Anyone who works on our digital services sits there. That inspires us to work together and challenge each other to further improve our products. It's just as easy to work with my development colleagues in India. You just need to keep track of the time difference!”

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