Tech saves the day for banks

Banks are beginning to respond to new customer demands and definitions of service by developing new services and points of customer interactions.

So said Koos Basson, an independent banking strategist, speaking during the Accenture Executive Summit, in Rosebank, yesterday. According to Basson, today customer priorities are dictating the banking agenda, as customers feel the need to be always connected.

He pointed out that rapid advances in technology are creating major opportunities for banks to build better and more loyal relationships with their customers, enhance service, and drive additional revenue. “They are also raising customers' expectations about how they interact with their bank.”

Online banking, as offered by many banks today, is a fairly basic service, Basson noted, adding that the development of new approaches could transform the online channel and drive greater value from existing and prospective customers. “One of the features that will drive successful approaches will be the ability to customise the user experience.

“The online experience of tomorrow will increasingly be driven by the customer or prospect characteristics. Representation - the look and feel of a Web site - will change dynamically, driven by real-time predictive analytics, making it a bespoke experience for each customer and prospect,” he explained.

Basson also noted that building this more tailored experience depends on the availability of customer analytics that will drive how every user experiences the site.

It is also Basson's view that the collaborative possibilities of the Internet are being explored by pioneering banks.

“Some are already using the Web to connect customers directly to experts who are able to guide them through a particular product or service. This can be taken a step further with 'co-browsing' that allows a bank's advisor to take over a user's desktop to not only tell them but show them directly how to make a transaction or apply for a particular product or service.”

Accenture notes that with close to one billion registered users of social networking sites, the rise of social media has been nothing short of transformative for the way that millions of people exchange information and manage their lives.

Some banks are beginning to explore the possibilities, said Basson. “Bank of America, for example, provides a Twitter feed and employs a number of staff simply to respond to public tweets. Others offer a Facebbok page. ING Direct makes extensive use of Facebook, requiring users to sign up with a Facebook profile before they can access services and information.”

However, Basson also pointed out that using social networks raises a number of challenges alongside the opportunities. “The power of the crowd means that bad news travels as fast and as widely as good news,” he said.

“Control that is possible when using other media channels is not available to users of social media. Tying social channels into CRM and front banking systems is likely to also raise formidable challenges, and the privacy and security implications of social media are considerable.”

However, he added, the explosive growth of digital social media makes it hard to ignore and banks will need to investigate how they can employ it to capture the growing number of their customers who use it everyday.

Basson also noted that the rise of smartphones has helped create consumer expectations that almost all services can be managed and delivered regardless of a user's location. He added that mobility is no longer confined to communication.

“The development of new devices such as the iPad, netbooks, and other forms of the tablet has reinforced expectations of ubiquitous expectations even higher. Most banks have yet to provide applications that meet new expectations. What many banks currently offer, in effect a cut-down Web site, tends to offer only a limited and commonly frustrating user experience.”

On the other hand, he said a wave of emerging technologies, such as near field communications embedded devices offer the possibility of a whole new concept of mobile banking. “These include virtualised wallets - where consumers are able to carry multiple payment methods on one device.”

He also explained that nonetheless, taking advantage of these possibilities, banks may face a challenge from telecommunications operators who 'own' the mobile channel and the core of customer relationship.

Basson also called for the rethinking of the branch, saying while its popularity has declined in recent years, the branch remains a preferred channel for a significant portion of customers. “The branch, therefore, has to evolve and make better use of technology to create much higher levels of automation through, for example, ATM and kiosks.”