Tech-driven customer-centric branches are the answer for customer retention and improved services.
Retail banks are under a lot of pressure. Declining cost-income ratios, increased competition from fintech startups and technology companies, as well as digital and mobile banking channels are the new realities facing financial institutions today.
It’s not all bad, though. Egremon Group finds that trust account holders have with their banks is still fairly high at 81 percent. So, what can retail banks do to keep customers happy and also grow their business?
Digital solutions and touch points help retail banks bring their brand to life by blending digital content and physical spaces together. At the core of these transformative, value-based solutions are the secure touch points like an iPad kiosk that can help to increase and protect the value of your investment.
Through customer-centric, omnichannel experiences, financial institutions are able to deliver the experiences customers expect while also providing banks and credit unions with the attractive commercial benefits they need to stay competitive.
Sound familiar? The retail industry has been employing a similar strategy to compete with e-commerce. Successful omnichannel experiences are helping retail brands create personalised, shopping experiences with its customers in-store.
Here’s a look at how digital touch points are changing the way banks and credit unions look and feel today:
Self-Service
Financial institutions like Lloyd’s Bank are improving the user experience by empowering do-it-yourself customers through self-service kiosks. Customers have quick access to personal account information, financial services and tools, as well as sign-up or enrollment for new programs via user-friendly tablet technologies.
These digital touch points are also a convenient way for banks and credit unions to cut costs by moving away from print materials and transitioning over to digital content. Further, reduced wait times and shorter lines enable banks serve more customers throughout the day.
Self-service stations also provide banks an additional opportunity to connect, understand and interact with customers. Leveraging marketing solutions like Salesforce Marketing Cloud, banks have more visibility into the customer journey, which can drive conversions and grow relationships by delivering smarter customer experiences.
Personalised Experience
As digital technologies become an intrinsic part of bank environments, the traditional banking counters are becoming a thing of the past. Bank designs are evolving into more customer-friendly environments to make banking a frictionless, and dare I say, an enjoyable process. This means more features like self-service touch points, iPad kiosk infotainment stations for children, or even coffee shops like the Capital One Café.
A big advantage for the new-look bank designs is the freedom employees have to walk around and provide on-the-spot assistance, as they’re no longer behind a desk or counter. This creates opportunities for employees to focus on high-value interactions where there are cross-sell and up-sell opportunities, or simply deliver smarter and more personalised customer service.
Navy Federal Credit Union, one of the world’s largest bank and credit unions, have been using Bouncepad iPad kiosk solutions to show members how to use its mobile app to make deposits, transfer money and check balances. Additionally, the organization has a designated kids area, where the tablets display games for entertainment, as well as educational content.
Identification Management
According to Accenture, more than $1 billion is spent annually on identity management solutions in the U.S., with banks topping the list of investors. Security is – and will always be – a priority for financial institutions and new technologies are helping to streamline the identification process.
Retail banks are increasingly using voice and facial recognition technologies to identify customers quickly, allowing them to simply access or open a new bank account, and even to make ATM withdrawals.
Palm vein recognition like Fujitsu’s PalmSecure, uses infrared light to scan veins in a user’s palm. Fujitsu claims its technology is safer than fingerprint scans, with a false acceptance rate of 0.00008 percent and a false rejection rate of 0.01 percent. This technology has been deployed in Japan’s Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, as well as Italy’s UniCredit bank.
(Image credits: Engadget, Washington Post/Jeffrey MacMillan)