Come on Banks, let's give it a go!

In my previous post I shared my thoughts and concerns about the banking industry real will to support customers when they actually need it.

It is a fact that we – the customers - now more than ever, need our banks to overcome this though moment and, even more, will need the financial system support to boost the economy jump start when the COVID19 emergency will be over; hopefully sooner rather than later.

Thanks to the extremely valuable and diverse feedback I received on my previous article, I realized that it would be fair, after I joined the popular front of “Banks finger pointers”, to better explain why I am so skeptical about the bank engagement with their customer and why my short term perspective is not so glowing as I would hope.

While I obviously appreciate that the main responsibility to support the economy relies on governments, we all remember how – and globally – they pumped oxygen – in form of billions of emergency funds – to rescue the distressed banking system from the incumbent and very dramatic crunch following the credit crisis in 2008.

I humbly believe that would be already enough to expect the commitment, responsibility and maybe even gratitude we would like to see from our banks. However, there is one reason more, and I think is the most important one: banking – although not the banks – it is needed, very much. In crisis to resist and during bonanza to prosper further.

Having sad that, we all know that nowadays we can bank not only with traditional banks because we have plenty – and every day more – of alternatives.

As a matter of fact, pretty much everybody now knows that the conditions our banks offers are not written in the stone anymore because thanks to technology and competition we can easily compare and find alternatives.

It all seems straight-forward, right? So where is the problem? The problem for me is that I feel like a betrayed lover.

Despite the deception, I am conscious about how may much we have achieved leveraging the banking system, how much trust we put in each other (well obviously the bank taking extra guarantees and less risk, always) and how much info we shared and collected which nowadays, should and can be used to work event more and better together but ….

It seems, at least so far, the bank is not up for it yet. Like a self-complacent lover, keeps staring at itself in a delusional mirror, without fully realizing the impact of the ongoing change, and it is a big one and it is called technology.

Technology is accessible almost to everybody and every year, even every quarter I would dare to say, allows customers to easily access information and alternative choices.

We all know that the key asset of this era is data

Technology unleashed that and empowers it every day more. I think even no tech people are bored to death to hear about the importance of data but ...

What is the value of data if you do not use it wisely and proactively?

And here comes the problem I have with banks so far: there is no doubt they are sitting on top of a mountain of the new gold – the data – but I don’t think they are not leveraging it or better, I don’t think they are using with the right perspective.

The fact they could do more and better business at the end will be their responsibility to face the consequences of their decision in the free market but, as a customer, and knowing what technology and innovation already enable them to do, I am very frustrated and disappointed.

Call it customer centric approach, full personalization, customer first … I am sure we could cover one page with sexy and appealing marketing messaging, but the simple and clear reality is that Banks today, with the right use of technology, can have a pretty good view on our current and potential future objective and what we will need to achieve that.

And if they want to keep being the customer trustworthy partner they have been so far, they must really embrace innovation, question their mindset and current far from optimal operational processes to get aligned with customer expectations.

By doing that, I am sure they will have far better chances to still be the preferred choice we always look at first when we have a plan or a need that is closer to our heart.