Truist Financial Corporation announced the grand opening of its Innovation and Technology Center, a space designed to reimagine the client experience for the more than 6 million interactions that take place daily at Truist. The 100,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility will be located at Truist Center in Charlotte, NC, and feature client journey rooms, a research lab and collaboration hubs where agile teams of innovators, product managers, engineers and designers will work with clients to build a better banking experience.

"The new Truist Innovation and Technology Center is ultimately all about our clients—a unique space that brings together direct client input with some of the best and brightest talent in the industry to build an innovative ecosystem that will propel Truist into the future," said Chief Information Officer Scott Case. "As our cross-functional teams come together with clients, fintechs and large tech companies to reimagine banking experiences through listening and empathy, we're fulfilling our purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities."

Highlights of the ITC will include:

• Client Journey Rooms – Each Client Journey Room is dedicated to gaining greater insight into ever-evolving client needs—from everyday personal banking to the more intricate requirements of Wealth clients and businesses of all types and sizes—to create better banking experiences.
• Makers Space – Truist teammates build prototypes in these spaces to test and refine new products and services.
• Reality Lab – Inside the lab, the focus is on using virtual and augmented reality technology to create the future of banking.
• Contact Center – Inside this 18-person call center engineers, designers and product owners connect with call center agents to get instant feedback directly from clients on their experiences.
• Tree Houses – These innovative spaces showcase prototypes that allow guests to explore new possibilities that emerging technologies can create.
• The Park – A space where teammates can meet to discuss a project or find tranquility. It resembles a community park with plenty of greenery, natural light and swings to help spark creativity and drive innovation.

"We're accelerating innovation through co-creation combined with cutting-edge technology to design experiences that wow our clients," said Ken Meyer, Divisional CIO and Experience Officer. "By leveraging the most modern capabilities and solutions, we will advance innovative and groundbreaking projects that attract top talent and external partners."

The ITC will also be the home base for the Innovators in Residence program, a partnership that brings in visionaries from tech giants and startups to collaborate on and explore new and emerging technologies to help address longstanding financial and community challenges. Amazon Web Services (AWS), Verizon and Unqork are founding partners of the program.

"Innovators in Residence will tap the capabilities of some of the most innovative companies in the world to help clients and the broader financial services industry explore new opportunities for the future," said Michael Pinto, Vice President, AWS America, East General Manager. "We're excited to bring AWS's expertise to help accelerate innovation using new cloud technologies as a founding supporter with Truist in this project."

"The demand for digital experiences has altered the business landscape," said Sampath Sowmyanarayan, Chief Revenue Officer, Verizon Business. "The ability to innovate to stay ahead of demand is essential for success. Truist is a like-minded partner with a desire to drive change, and the Innovators in Residence program and this partner ecosystem will serve as the proving ground for delivering positive outcomes for businesses, consumers and communities."

"As businesses face increasing pressure to digitize, the ability to collaborate across an organization is becoming increasingly important," said Gary Hoberman, CEO and founder, Unqork. "Truist understands this, and has created an environment that will foster collaboration and fuel innovation, allowing them to ultimately address the biggest challenges in finance through technology. We're honored to join Truist as a founding partner of this program and look forward to helping them foster collaboration between tech and business users as they chart a path towards a codeless future."

The Truist Innovation & Technology Center won the CoreNet Global Carolinas Chapter CORE Award for Innovation Project of the Year.