In a more connected and mobile world than ever before, the banking industry is at the leading edge of digital transformation. Increasingly, fintech is held up as a solution to improving the customer experience (CX) for banks.
It gives users better access to their finances and more control over their money. For the banks themselves, digital channels – from websites to mobile apps – are an opportunity to engender trust with their customers and build long-term relationships with them.
Mikhail Dubov is the CEO and co-founder of Chattermill, a unified customer intelligence platform that enables CX teams to get the unfiltered truth about their customers so that they can transform their brands’ CX.
Here Dubov outlines where fintechs can compete on CX and how they can find clarity among increasingly chaotic pools of customer data.
CX in fintech – and in the banking sector more broadly – is continually being redefined. As the world continues to shift, banks are placing more value on their CX strategy as a means to compete in a landscape where both new and existing consumers are looking for the best digital experiences.
According to a report by The Economist, 81 per cent of senior banking executives believe that banks will seek to differentiate on CX rather than products in the next few years. The report also finds that improving CX and engagement is the most cited strategic priority for banks between now and 2025.
The banking sector is no stranger to disruption, and much like the customers they serve, banks themselves have had to adapt and adapt to new technologies – and quickly.
While we have seen digital transformation and Covid-19 disrupt the industry within the last decade, there is an argument to be made that the redefinition of CX itself through unified customer intelligence may well be the next thing that sees some brands win big and others fall by the wayside. Here’s where fintechs can compete on CX.
Support customers as they move to digital
The very nature of fintech is that it is accessible. But banks have opportunities to do more to support users as they move to digital tools for the first time.
Investment in this support has benefits beyond CX. It promotes prolonged and more valuable engagement of banking tools and builds long-term trust between the consumer and brand.
McKinsey points to lessons learned from banks in Asia who were quick to adapt their processes and roll out new ways to help customers during the initial wave of Covid-19: ‘For instance, in China, leading banks set up new online portals to explain available services and the actions they were taking in the context of the Coronavirus. These portals provided video servicing and sales capabilities, as well as educational videos for investors who were worried about the impact on their portfolios.’
Tools, tutorials and information on how to bank remotely were also made available to users who needed them. Banks that succeeded here boasted clear, easy-to-find communications.
McKinsey’s research also highlights the opportunity for data-led segmentation and targeting to provide tailored support to customers at varying levels of familiarity with the new technologies on offer.
Companies providing this support are improving CX and strengthening the long-term relationships between customers and the brand. They are also better placed to take a leading position among their competitors.
Don’t invest in digital at the expense of offline
Fintech is becoming a more significant part of the banking mix. But while digital channels are certainly here to stay, they should not be viewed as a replacement for offline touchpoints.
Customer journeys are increasingly omnichannel – this means they are taking place seamlessly across online and offline channels.
As we move into 2022 and beyond, we can expect more of a blurring between where fintech and traditional banking meet. Brands that can provide a physical space (if not a banking branch) and human interaction via phone or video calls are likely to do well in the CX battle.
The best omnichannel experiences rely on personalised customer journeys underpinned by solid data. This ensures fintech and banking brands can meet individual customers where they want to be met, and those customers can be best supported in precisely the most valuable and helpful way to them.
Having a comprehensive understanding of the needs of each customer is critical for both fintech and banking brands to be able to get the digital and offline balance right.
Be more than a bank, but be supportive and secure
Customers are expecting banks to be omnichannel. But they also want them to be omnifunctional.
According to Epam’s ‘Consumer Banking Report 2021′, younger customers, in particular, want more financial support and education about how best to look after their money.
This doesn’t just need to be on offer via digital means. Gen Z is also enthusiastic for evolved banking branches, destinations that offer much more than just a place to deposit and withdraw money or open new accounts.
McKinsey’s analysis of Asian banks during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic touches on this too. In China, they found leading financial institutions to be offering ‘non-banking-related services ranging from help with online shopping to doctor appointments to the delivery of disinfectant’.
Beyond the need for seamless integration across channels, CX leaders in fintech and banking are better integrated with the communities in which their customers are situated. Companies that can improve the banking experience and how financial interactions happen with shopping, healthcare, work, and donating to charities are also best placed to compete against other established and emerging brands.
Of course, security becomes more of an issue in an increasingly integrated world too. We need to see evolution in what banks are, but we also need to see a change in how companies provide seamless integration and more secure authentication. Verification product developers such as authID.ai point to facial biometric identity authentication as one possible solution.
Ultimately, the technology which underpins CX is what holds everything together.
Supportive, omnichannel and omnifunctional banking is reliant on already sprawling tech stacks. These tech stacks are likely to grow as banks seek to diversify their offering digitally and in the real world. And volumes of data will increase alongside it.
Unified customer intelligence platforms offer the best means for companies to find clarity among these increasingly chaotic pools of customer data. They give a comprehensive view of users as they interact across touchpoints. And they deliver insights and intelligence that are ultimately led by what customers think and feel about your brand.
The result for banks and fintech companies is that they will be better enabled to act on their all-important customer data and deliver outstanding personalised experiences for their customers.
