Digital-First Banking’s Mantra: Check Friction at the Virtual Front Door

Banks and credit unions will need to focus on customer experience, security and technology, Candescent Chief Product Officer Doug Brown writes in a new PYMNTS eBook, “The New Value Equation: 11 Financial Services Leaders Share Their Vision for 2025.”

As we launch a new brand, 2025 will be particularly interesting, challenging and exciting for the Candescent team. However, despite all the changes, our mission remains: to provide industry-leading digital-first banking solutions to banks and credit unions. The customer experience will be the driving force behind our efforts as we continue to enable financial institutions to offer seamless and engaging banking experiences.

For banks and credit unions, the focus remains on these four things:

Making banking effortless

Providing seamless, frictionless digital-first banking experiences remains a top priority. Consumers don’t want to struggle with complicated interfaces or confusing processes. They want to log in, get things done and move on with their day. Whether checking an account balance, paying a bill or setting up a savings goal, the focus will be on making these tasks quick and easy.

Banks and credit unions must continue focusing on eliminating roadblocks that can frustrate users — like multiple steps to complete a transfer or delays in loading accounts. A core focus of ours will continue to be streamlining every aspect of banking, ensuring that end users have a smooth, intuitive experience no matter what device they’re using.

Personalizing the experience

Consumers expect more than just a place to hold money and receive blanket marketing emails. They want financial advice and products tailored to their individual needs.

By analyzing a user’s financial habits and behaviors, banks and credit unions can offer more relevant suggestions, such as helping someone save for a new car, offering budgeting tools for those trying to manage spending or recommending loan products that align with their goals. Banks and credit unions need technology partners that will empower them with the products and features necessary to meet their customers’ or members’ unique needs.

Security and trust

Trust remains the backbone of any banking relationship. As bad actors continue to find new ways to attack financial institutions and gain access to data and personal information, it’s critical that consumers feel secure in where they keep their money and what data they’re sharing.  Balancing security without creating frustrating friction points will remain a challenge for banks and credit unions.

Features like biometric authentication, multi-factor verification and real-time alerts are becoming standard. However, financial institutions also need to be transparent about their security measures and policies to help build that trust and help consumers feel secure.

Enhancing the experience with AI

Artificial intelligence will continue to make waves in customer service, and live use cases will continue to grow. For financial institutions, it’s critical to establish an AI strategy and invest. Whether it’s features like chatbots and virtual assistants or backend automation and machine learning tools, establishing a strategic plan will be critical to success. With AI, the wait-and-see model may be too late.

Ultimately, financial institutions need to continue doubling down on customer experience. With the right technology in place, they’ll be able to offer consumers more convenience, personalization and peace of mind — making banking easier and more rewarding for everyone.