The value of frictionless banking

It goes without saying that today’s consumers expect activities like making a payment or checking their bank balance to be as easy and fast as possible. But the ongoing cost of living crisis also means they have a clear need for their banks to make services as straightforward as possible to access. That means banks need to invest in the customer experience to make it as painless and streamlined as possible, which requires them to invest in modern technology. 

Why? 

Money.

I was recently speaking to an executive at a major high street bank who said, “our business model has to be frictionless because every time we fail, it costs the bank”.

So, what should banks be doing to move towards more frictionless banking? 

Re-evaluate current internal systems

Firstly, it is essential for banks to review their back-end systems. These need to be up to par in order to keep up with the frictionless experience customers expect. Banks cannot rely on their legacy systems to maintain current customer demand and expect to support new customers on these out-of-date applications. This means looking at selective ‘hollowing out’ of older applications or wholesale replacement.

These back-end systems should also be supporting customer service agents who should not be fighting with multiple applications when having a single conversation with a customer in person or on the phone, via desktop, or any other channel for that matter. Information from multiple systems should be consolidated into one, which makes customer service that much easier for all involved. 

Banks transforming their back-end systems and adopting a low code approach will be essential for their frictionless transformation journey. It is necessary for them to adopt a system that is much more agile and scalable which can be updated by any employee regardless of their coding ability. This is because low code tools allow systems to be updated with a common language, so it will not only be left up to the IT team to upgrade systems. Therefore, many more employees can contribute to improving and streamlining back-end processes. There is a caveat here, however, as deploying low code is not the only action a bank should take, rather it is one part of a much larger digital transformation journey. 

Strive for a personal touch on all channels 

Nevertheless, with these improved systems, banks may now be able to tap into the future of banking which is personalisation at scale. For customers, it is important that they do not feel lost amongst the hundreds of thousands or even millions of other customers. Offering personalised actions, such as a loan or mortgage when customers may need one builds trust; allowing the bank to respond to present requirements and predict future needs. Getting it right as to when to offer a sales compared to a service experience is critical. Customers (and staff) are ever more intolerant of impersonal, miss-timed interactions.

Overcommunicate with your customer

Not only that, but customers also want clear communication on all transactions which they have made no matter which platform or which channel is used. Transparency for customers is key for frictionless banking. 

Banks can use intelligent automation to automate their communications with their customer to ensure they are fully in the know. For example, if a customer is nearing their overdraft, a bank can provide proactive suggestions of what to do or what the rise in interest rates means for them, even highlighting when their bills change.

The future is frictionless banking

There is an abundance of opportunities for banks to provide their customers with a personalised and streamlined experience. Customers should be able to transfer between different digital methods when contacting a bank if they have a desire to, and this should not impede their experience. Banks must keep it in mind that if they cannot provide a seamless experience for their customers, they are not only losing customers, but are also losing money.