Digital Platforms Give Banks New Testing Ground for Personalized Experiences

Banks face increasing consumer demands for personalized advice and tools to manage their finances amid economic challenges. Just 44% of customers believe their banks support them during difficult economic times, and 46% want personalized help in avoiding fees. Banks delivering personalized banking services must also prioritize security, with customers citing fraud protection as a critical factor in digital banking satisfaction.

On the other hand, if security measures add complexity and friction to the customer experience, customers may abandon the process altogether. Thirty-eight percent of consumers abandoned credit card applications due to complex identity checks. The onboarding process is a crucial step in customer engagement and is becoming a key focus for banks, with many planning to implement digital functionality to streamline the process and improve customer satisfaction.

The “Digital-First Banking Tracker®” explores how financial institutions (FIs) face a customer satisfaction gap and how a balance of customer-focused innovation and security measures can attract and retain clients.

Around the Digital-First Banking Space

Nearly three in four consumers seek a sense of “financial belonging” with their banks, but just 11% feel it. Not making this connection is costly for consumers, who are 160% less likely to have better financial health if they do not. Trust, knowledge, access and a hybrid banking experience can maximize customer satisfaction by enabling human interaction alongside digital wherever consumers require it.

With FIs ramping up digital to meet shifting consumer preferences, they must also be mindful of evolving fraud threats. The rise of synthetic identity fraud, among other threats, is compelling banks to take decisive action to detect and snuff out suspicious activity. By seamlessly combining fraud protection with new digital platforms, FIs can understand and optimize the commercial impacts of their fraud-fighting investments.

For more on these and other stories, visit the Tracker’s News and Trends section.

An Insider on Top-Down Support to Boost Digital Banking Satisfaction

Bolstered by a top-down commitment from the CEO to driving customer satisfaction through digital banking, Associated Bank has built on its stellar reputation for in-branch service.

To get the Insider POV, we spoke with Michael Tischer, senior vice president and director of innovation and design, who explained how leadership support and a strong user testing program to gain customer feedback had enabled the bank to achieve increased customer satisfaction scores.

Meeting Digital Demands for Customer-Focused Innovation

Against the backdrop of increasing digital expectations and economic uncertainty, banks are grappling with the challenge of driving customer satisfaction. Data indicates that banks are coming up short on several fronts, such as personalization, onboarding and forging deep connections with customers, who will switch banks for the kinds of digital experiences, products and services they desire.

Banks are increasing their technology budgets to help meet the rising demand for digital features and create back-end efficiencies. Still, there is more to satisfaction than just ramping up digital. A significant share of consumers still prefers in-person branches for many types of services, and banks must aim for an omnichannel banking experience that seamlessly integrates digital and human touch points to stay competitive.

To learn more about how banks can deliver customer-focused innovation, read the Tracker’s PYMNTS Intelligence.

About the Tracker

The “Digital-First Banking Tracker®,” a collaboration with NCR, examines how personalized, frictionless and secure experiences are in demand and how banks can build the kind of digital banking that anticipates customers’ needs wherever they are.