Evaluating customer journeys and business models are more relevant than ever. The service model is changing accordingly to sales and service processes which are enabled in digital channels. Regardless many improvements in the area of customer journeys, instant human assistance plays a key role in encouraging customers to use online and mobile banking. 

1.      Complex products assistance

Being on the banking website and searching for the right product information might create confusion. What the virtual branch is essentially doing, it might provide
a human-assisted channel where the customer can instantly ask for help. Let’s consider complex products i.e. mortgages. Collaborative tools like screen sharing, 
co-browsing, and document sharing foster information exchange between a customer and a bank:

• Making a rough calculation based on customer’s requirements, visualizing all information and simulation with screen-sharing functionality
• Using co-browsing and filling an application form together with a customer
• Exchanging necessary documents for credit check thanks to document sharing feature

2.      Active engagement

Recently a bank uses professional analytics tools which are a great source of information on customer experience. As a result of defining main pain points bank can trigger chat, audio and video contact pop-up. This will decrease the huge amount of abandonment caused by customer frustration.

 3.      Communication hub

Virtual branch banking can be a complementary solution to other channels. Based on retail banking expertise customers are using recently at least 3 different banking channels. This platform ensures an instant remote advisory for those who on regular basis would solve their inquiries online, as well as enables to overcome the distance for customers who prefer branches, but unfortunately, they do not have any nearby.

 4.      Boost acquisition and onboarding

eKYC – digital onboarding is still an important element of the digitization strategy. Recently local regulators enabled account opening without a necessity to visit a branch. However, it’s not unified across different countries. Nevertheless, the process might be organized according to local regulations:

• eKYC with full human support – the flow gives hints and steps to advisors and customers. During the process, two feature might be incorporated: optical character recognition (OCR) and biometrics check
• eKYC semi-automatized  – the flow enables to retrieve all necessary documents on mobile or online banking without human interaction. Further, the customer is redirected to the virtual branch banking and an advisor finalizes the process
• eKYC fully-automatized – the flow which enables to retrieve all necessary documents and check them without human interaction. Only events with “red flag” might be transferred to the virtual branch banking for the second check

5.      Integration with other systems

Recently many vendors and fin-tech companies are serving a banking sector, however with different expertise and focus on: chat, live chat (asynchronous), audio and video communication. What is worth considering to reach operational efficiency and increase customer satisfaction:

• Secure identification and authentication of the customer through a single sing on (SSO) functionality. With reference to contact center expertise a customer usually has an issue to provide credentials on IVR i.e. customer number and tele PIN because just does not remember them. Consequently, a contact center has to carry out identification and authentication by redirecting a customer back to IVR or asking static (i.e. “What is your name, surname?”) and dynamic questions (i.e. “What was your last transaction carried out using a payment card?”). With SOS a customer is using the same credentials as for online and mobile banking.
• Integration with a CRM system of the bank. It’s helpful to provide to advisor a 360-degree overview of customers on their recent relationship with a bank, products and potential offers. Thanks to an integration with virtual branch banking a customer widows pops up automatically based on a previous identification and authentication process
• Integration of social media platforms, including social media messaging tools like WhatsApp and Facebook, makes communication with the bank much effective and friendlier to a customer.

To summarize virtual branch banking with chat, video and audio channels, is the future because it’s humanizing interactions with the banks. It’s creating new sales opportunities as well as delivers better service quality. Virtual branch banking has the potential to be a communica­tion and collaboration platform which enables a customer to contact a bank through chat (synchronous & asynchronous), video and audio channels.