Mr Daniel Krebs has recently been appointed as a new member of the Eurogiro Board, succeeding Mr Armin Brun as the representative of Swiss Post PostFinance. Daniel brings a wealth of knowledge about Eurogiro from his many former roles in Eurogiro working groups. In this interview he expresses his view on the aspirations and challenges of Eurogiro.

Daniel Krebs from Swiss Post PostFinance in the Eurogiro Board since Dec 2011

The payment market and Eurogiro have changed dramatically since you entered your first Eurogiro Working Group, the (Board) Advisory Group in 2004. What do you regard as the greatest achievements of Eurogiro over time and what should Eurogiro focus on to meet the challenges of today ?
Eurogiro adapted its 'postal network' to a potter's wheel between postal organisations, banks and other financial institutions. In geographic terms, Eurogiro managed to overcome its Euro-centric focus to adopt a global view. Many initiatives taken in the past are a good basis for further development. One example is the SECUG (SWIFT-Eurogiro Closed User Group) which enables banks to connect to Eurogiro using the SWIFT infrastructure. This must also be the basis with which to connect banks even more smoothly in the future.

You represent one of the strongest sending (and receiving) institutions in Eurogiro and have opened the largest number of business corridors with other members. How do you see the value of the community now and in the future?
On the one hand, we are a retail financial institution based in Switzerland without any branches or representative offices outside the country. On the other hand, we handle the largest share of international payments on the Swiss market. In the past Eurogiro enabled connections to institutions abroad - remember that it is not that long ago since postal organisations were not allowed to participate in the SWIFT network. Eurogiro provides us with a valuable platform for close relations with institutions worldwide. This community spirit is of utmost importance for the future.

Partnerships have been very important in the history of Eurogiro, including Western Union and SWIFT among others. How do you see the role of partnerships?
The community is the basis for successful partnerships. Today, the major part of the volume exchanged via Eurogiro is either Western Union transactions or exchanged via the SWIFT connection. I believe that partnerships will become even more important in the future.

Today, the strongest growth in business is in Asia, how do you see Eurogiro best positioning itself to take a role in this development?
Times have changed dramatically over the last decade in the payments business in Europe. The single currency, with no FX and SEPA rules, had an enormous impact on how we do business today. What we learn along the way - like high STP rates - can be adapted to the Asian market to some extent, and Eurogiro can support this. However, from a European perspective we have to be aware that there is not just one Asia and the huge continent has its own dynamics. Eurogiro's footprint in Asia is important to further growth in other areas of the world.

The payments industry is developing rapidly with much competition from known and new types of providers. How do you see the role and opportunities for, in particular, postal organisations in this market?
Postal organisations have the luxury of providing the greatest potential: they have infrastructures that span countries, a huge customer base and are often already active in the financial market. At PostFinance we are investing in the mobile business. A couple of years ago, we could not have imagined what we would be able to do with smartphones today. I believe that postal organisations should not hide from competitors but seek out new opportunities and possibilities. 

Finally, how would you like to influence the future Eurogiro? 
Today's supervisory boards have to contend with a host of new pressures, challenges and risks. We are held accountable for the company's performance and vitality. We must set its strategic direction, often across diverse product markets and geographies, and monitor Eurogiro's risk profile. Corporate governance and the evaluation of the performance of management and the company is a task of the Board. i would like to work together with my board colleagues in an open spirit to address these tasks. We have to move towards a more virtual Eurogiro - less technology and connection driven to more community and partnership driven aspects. In addition, we must think outside the box for new ideas in the payment industry. I look forward to taking up my role and contributing to the future of Eurogiro.