Historical series Itaú Unibanco is the first bank in the world to join a global connectivity alliance
As a member of the Wireless Broadband Alliance, Itaú will be able to develop new connectivity solutions together with the world’s largest technology companies
February 2024 – Itaú Unibanco has signed a partnership to become a member of the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), a global alliance that brings together some of the world’s largest technology and telecommunications companies, with the aim of fostering connectivity and jointly developing innovations in mobile technologies. The initiatives include solutions related to Wi-Fi, 5G, Internet of Things and OpenRoaming, among others. With this, Itaú becomes the first bank in the world to join the association.
As a member of the WBA, Itaú will have access to discussions on the latest trends in mobile connectivity and will contribute with the expertise it has already built up as a reference in telecommunications in the Brazilian market. The bank will also be able to develop and test new solutions in partnership with companies from different countries, thus helping to further promote the connectivity segment in Brazil.
“We’ve been experimenting a lot with the potential of new telecommunications technologies to improve the customer experience and Itaú’s operations. We were pioneers in implementing Brazil’s first bank branch connected to 5G in 2021, and in expanding this new connectivity standard to around 100 branches throughout 2022. In 2023, we became the first financial institution in the country to carry out connection tests with the Starlink network in a branch. Now, as the first bank in the world to join the WBA, we want to continue leveraging the evolution of connectivity to offer our customers the latest in connectivity, and we already have new launches planned for the first half of this year,” says Fábio Napoli, Chief Technology Officer at Itaú Unibanco.
“We are delighted to welcome Itaú Unibanco to the Wireless Broadband Alliance—the first financial institution to do so. Itaú’s intention is to enhance its services with connectivity solutions such as OpenRoaming for its customers and continue to develop capabilities to support its own business, which makes it an ideal member of the Wireless Broadband Alliance, where collaboration between companies can open up new opportunities and solve important technological challenges. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with Itaú Unibanco”, comments Tiago Rodrigues, President and CEO of the Wireless Broadband Alliance.