On December 3, 2014, Mr Chris Skinner, one of the world's leading experts in digital banking, gave a public lecture on "The key drivers of digital banking growth worldwide" at the National Bank of Ukraine. The event was attended by Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Valeriia Gontareva, CEOs of banks and educational institutions, IT specialists, and mass media representatives.

Mr Chris Skinner focused his lecture on the idea that "if a bank does not have a digital strategy in place, it has no future". His book "Digital Bank" has not only become a best seller, but has marked a real breakthrough for bankers across the world. Mr Chris Skinner takes the view that the only way to survive for the banking system in the digital revolution era is to digitalize services, mobile applications, and use "cloud" technologies. “Bankers should shift their focus on relations with customers," said Mr Chris Skinner. According to his forecast, plastic cards will disappear in the next 10 years: “Payment chips will be embedded in clothing, watches, and other items. Soon your car will buy petrol by itself, "communicating" with the petrol filling station. New economy will be based on chips. However, cash will not disappear completely, for it is an absolutely anonymous payment," said Mr Chris Skinner.

Oleksandr Dubilet, Chairman of the Board of PJSC CB "PRIVATBANK" expressed his sincere gratitude to Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Valeriia Gontareva for the opportunity to conduct a lecture at the National Bank of Ukraine and the central bank's commitment to state-of-the-art technologies. "The fact that it is the National Bank of Ukraine that has hosted this meeting indicates that the leadership of our country is not only committed to addressing the urgent problems, but also is aware of the fact that the future lies with new technologies that are crucial for our country in this challenging time".

Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Valeriia Gontareva shared the point of view expressed by Chris Skinner that a modern bank is becoming an integrator of financial opportunities and services. She said: “The future of the banking system is associated with widespread use of digital services. Ukraine has a great competitive advantage in this area as domestic banks shifted to innovative technology a long time ago, and so far they have used it efficiently to carry out their operations. We feel proud that Ukrainian banks were first to apply some cutting-edge techniques to their business. The international market practices enable us to build the financial community development priorities. Presently, the Ukrainian banking system is undergoing a qualitative transformation and is prepared to propel banks into the era of digital technologies.