Customer experience trends in banking to watch for

By Priya Iyer, Chairman and CEO, Vee24

Most people have a full-time job, a family and a fairly full schedule of extra curriculars and they simply do not have the time to go to a bank within the standard work week. Futurum author Daniel Newman says, “I can’t remember the last time I’ve been to a bank. Come to think of it, I can’t remember the last time I’ve mailed a bill payment, either.”[1]

Over 161 million users in the U.S.and 7 out of 10 people in the UK use digital banking today largely due to its convenience.[2& 3] The number of users has steadily risen over the last 5 years, which only means we can expect continuous growth in the coming years. As a retail banker or credit union, now is the time to take a look at your current online presence. Do you have a mobile app? Do you offer customer support outside normal business hours? Do your customers receive the same level of service online that they would receive in person?

In 2019 and beyond, banks and credit unions that put a large emphasis on their level of online customer support will be the first to see a significant rise in sales conversions and brand loyalty. The financial industry has always been one of the leaders at adopting innovative technology, and with the current live assistance capabilities available, there’s no need to let your customer service fall behind. Here are 3 important banking and credit union customer experience trends to watch for to stay current and keep customers satisfied.

Remote video chat support

Personal finances can be a touchy subject and many customers prefer to visit a bank in person to discuss matters such as investments, loans and savings accounts. Picture a student who needs to speak to a financial representative about their student loans. It’s likely that they don’t feel it’s appropriate to put their concerns in writing through email or text chat, but they also have a full schedule of classes and homework and do not have time to go into a brick-and-mortar branch. Live Engagement platforms offer one-on-one video chat support so that customers can feel secure handling their finances through a conversation with a knowledgeable person, but remotely from the comfort of their couch.

It’s been predicted that 1 in 5 financial institutions will offer some form of video chat support to their customers in 2019.[4] Companies offering video banking services have found that 72% of their customers perceived them as an innovative institution and that their customer satisfaction rate had increased by 64%.[5]

Omnichannel banking

In addition to improving the quality of online customer support with more meaningful and personalised interactions, financial institutions should expect to see online banking become more accessible across all channels, and from any device. In fact, many companies have already started to prioritise this. 65% of businesses think that having a live engagement platform that supports a variety of devices and operating systems is the most important feature to have. [6] Certain chat platforms enable customers to reach their bank representative with just a click of a button – from any browser, on any device, and with no download required. A customer can receive support on their iPhone or Samsung Galaxy from a grocery store, or they can speak to their financial advisor from their laptop at work or at home. Providing customers with this type of flexibility will continue to be an important feature of online banking throughout and beyond 2019.

Co-browsing with customersextra curriculars

Although many financial institutions rank accessibility and quality of support as the most important features of a live engagement system, we cannot overlook the ability to share a screen and co-browse. Co-browsing is an extremely impactful feature of online customer support and more than a fourth of banking providers think this is the most important feature to have when deploying video chat.[7] When a frustrated customer contacts a live agent because they cannot find the right application for a personal loan, the agent can take control over the customer’s browser and direct them to the right page. To take it a step further, more sophisticated live chat platforms allow co-form fill, enabling the agent and customer to jointly fill out online forms.

Conclusion

Online and mobile banking technology will continue to improve over time with AI driving automation and omnichannel access – financial institutions who keep up with these advancements while staying consistent with their customer support will be the most successful. Most users of online banking look forward to a high standard of service that not only meets stated commitments from a bank but also provides personalised experiences that consistently exceed customer expectations.