Opinion Article: “Banks’ success depends on the digital consumer experience”

In 2019, a study developed by Adobe and Econsultancy revealed that companies regarded as leaders in Customer Experience were three times more likely to achieve their business goals. After two years of pandemic and with the rapid growth of digitization, this data becomes even more meaningful. Although this rising trend has reached the financial sector, the data that Financial Brand released at the beginning of the year is not encouraging: only 26% of consumers report that banks offer a user experience considered “Excellent”. But how can banks optimize digital consumer experience?

The answer lies in the recognition of a range of factors that I consider key to the differentiation and positioning of companies operating in the banking industry. The first involves the digitization of operations as simple as opening a bank account or requesting a new credit card, which allows the user to quickly and safely uncomplicate operations that would otherwise be much more bureaucratic.

Consequently, and as a result of the existence of younger consumers with more advanced technological knowledge, the access to market innovations must be immediate. To meet these consumers' needs, companies have to be more agile, which requires internal organization and the allocation of multidisciplinary teams dedicated to comprehending consumer behaviors to promote a more efficient technological co-creation work. At the same time, for these user experiences to be highly differentiated and personalized, the use of UX Design Thinking tools and the study of how customers perceive and interact with digital banking solutions is crucial.

Another relevant factor to be considered is the preference for the use of mobile phones. In order to keep up with this trend, banks must optimize applications that facilitate daily transactions. However, they shouldn't overlook the importance of the omnichannel experience. Through the integration of different contact points, it is possible to guarantee that the aggregation of user data runs smooth, thus favoring a more satisfactory service and enhancing the conversion capacity.

The integration of banking services in non-financial institutions through open banking platforms is also one of the main factors that enhance consumer experience. This new paradigm promotes, on the one hand, a fully personalized experience for the consumer and, on the other hand, allows banks to attract and retain customers of the entities with which they maintain this connection.

In this context, one of the most vital questions in consumer experience is security. In the last two years, the number of cyber-attacks has increased, and the security of financial institutions and their customers has become, more than ever, a premise of digitalization. The main goal is to assure the customer in a direct, simple, and digitally accessible way, with identity verification processes such as biometrics, fingerprint, or facial recognition.

All these factors must always take into account one maximum: speed. Consumers are increasingly demanding and request simple, fast, and effective services, which is why it is necessary to continually invest in the technical performance of banking platforms to ensure the quickest loading time and instant digital experiences.

With technological advances and the increasing number of digital customers, digital transformation of the banking sector is no longer an option, thus becoming essential to ensure a fully personalized user experience that is simultaneously efficient, agile, intuitive, safe, and fast.

News: Sapo TEK

 *This opinion article is based on an extract/free translation of the White Paper “How to turn your Bank into a Customer Experience Champion – 8 Key Success Factors to ensure an excellent CX maturity level”, developed by ITSector.