Digital Payments: a growing trend with a focus on Customer Experience
The customer experience (CX) is a crucial competitive difference in today’s banking industry. For a good reason, financial institutions investing in customer experience in banking are more likely to have recommended rates, higher wallet shares, and up-sale their products.
It encourages banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions worldwide to take a more intelligent look at their existing digital payment trends and services. The latest trends help companies to focus more on personalized services for enhanced customer experience.
Digital payment market is booming as it introduces new technologies that constantly converge with others and uplifts the emergence of innovative payments ways and consequently developing business opportunities. Currently, the most modest solutions such as contactless payment, and mobile payment will exceed a 21% of total digital payment by card according to mobile payment and commerce observatory.
Importance of customer experience (CX) in Today’s finance sector
Today we live in a society that revolves around the digital world. Consumers today are more likely to shop online at stores that offer secure contactless payment transactions. For this reason, consumers expect advanced security that is user-friendly and accessible to all.
The number of consumers relying on e-commerce for their needs and wants is constantly increasing as more and more brands are going digital. Mobile commerce alone accounted for more than 34% of e-commerce sales in 2017. In addition to rapid growth, mobile commerce can reach 54% of total sales and revenue.
Defining customer experience in finance and banking
The customer experience (CX) in banking refers to the efforts you make to make every customer feel valued when interacting with your bank. It is also the accumulation of all the interactions that the customer experiences throughout the journey.
The Digital Banking Report found that “improving the customer experience in banking” should be the first goal for banking institutions and financial service providers.
Banks that invest in customer experience trends have higher recommended rates, higher wallet shares. And are more likely to sell or cross-sell products and services to existing customers.
Innovating Customer experience in financial and banking services
Providing an excellent customer experience is important for the financial services industry. Poor service and financial advice have emerged as the top reasons people leave banks and credit unions. Addressing a weak customer experience can be more effective in the long run. Banks should adopt these top digital payment trends and strategies to improve their banking and financial services experience.
Enhanced products and services
Customer self-service is one of the fastest-growing banking customer experience trends. Thanks to mobility, customers now can fully access their bank’s resources from their mobile device wherever there is Wi-Fi, turning an ever-distant dream into a basic hope.
In today’s market, mobile banking applications are not as good as they should be. The good news is that these apps are fairly easy to develop through low-code development platforms or in partnership with vendors. Banks without this capability are at a serious disadvantage as consumers expect unparalleled convenience from the mobile application.
The merchant payment solutions collect huge amounts of data – data that, if left untouched, does not benefit you or your customers. Data analytics platforms and machine learning algorithms can help you extract valuable information from these customer data. Which you can use to develop new products, optimize existing processes, empower customers better, and improve overall CX.
If your organization already has or has developed a mobile banking app. The next step is to determine if you are using that app’s data effectively.
Virtual branches
Customers may not visit physical branches as often as they used to, but that doesn’t mean banks can sleep in their brick-and-mortar locations. Most brick-and-mortar banks risk the model that Internet banking was at the beginning of the day.
Small benefits like complimentary coffee and Wi-Fi are not enough for modern customers. And their physical branches will close below if they fail to make a profit.
The need to compete with Internet banks and improve customer experience in banking has prompted brick-and-mortar banks to rethink what a physical branch should be and what a “future branch” should be.
Some banks have experimented with showroom-style designs found in Apple stores, displaying rows of smartphones. And other mobile devices alongside their banking apps so that customers can see the app in action.
Utilization of AI powered chatbots
One of the key aspects that directly influences the customer experience is real-time support. “85% of banks and businesses will join AI chatbots by 2021,” says Gartner.
The chatbot is the best channel that banks can use to automate their simple and routine tasks (account balance, outstanding credit card amount, how to change address, etc.) where no human involvement is required. You can train your boat to handle conversations properly and to match their language style or timing.
Seamless omni channel experience
Modern consumers prefer to engage with the brand through various channels. They can perform banking operations using any digital wallet app development, mobile app, call center, bank branch, or other channels.
Studies show that digital channels become insignificant on an annual basis, but about 50% of consumers also want branch services. This means that better customer service in banking is about providing the same quality of service on both online and offline channels.
Delivering omnichannel banking customer experience is about providing customers with the same services on both digital and offline channels.
The original omnichannel banking platform also allows real-time data synchronization between different channels. For example, customers can start the onboarding process with one channel. And end with another channel without having to provide the same data over and over again.
Support for remote service
If 2020 teaches us one thing, it is the importance of digital channels and remote services. The transition to digital has proved difficult for many banking customers, especially the older generation who have limited digital literacy.
In 2022, instead of letting these customers get in the way, banks will need to redouble their efforts to facilitate the transition to online banking services. This will require banks to provide additional support to customers through educational materials, such as step-by-step tutorials, interactive videos. And webinars, customer knowledge bases, and more.
The more comfortable and confident a customer feels when interacting with digital channels and remote services. The better the customer experience of their financial services will be.
Use Big Data and Analytics
Understanding customers is the foundation for lasting competitive advantage in the digital banking experience. Improving the retail banking experience requires our customers to understand and relate to how they perceive it truly. This includes taking a 360-degree view of your banking customer and taking advantage of available data that increase revenue and customer satisfaction.
Big data analytics is an important component for enhancing the financial services experience and making important business decisions. The ever-increasing volatility in consumer needs has fuelled the urge to take advantage of big data analytics to gain a deeper insight into it.
Final thoughts
By understanding the different areas of the customer experience, you can come up with a comprehensive customer engagement strategy to bridge the gap between customers and your bank.
The importance of the digital banking experience is due to its various benefits, such as lower operating costs, retaining customers. And using the latest technologies to stay ahead of competitors.
In short, the customer experience in the banking environment is largely unsuitable for growth as it focuses on meeting customers’ day-to-day needs and preparing for disruptive digital Wallet software technologies.
