Business
Omnichannel Banking Experience: Making Banking Accessible in 2023
In today’s world, banking is no longer a purely in-person experience.
For many years, the banking industry acted with exclusivity, providing services almost solely to customers who could access bank branches in person.
However, as the world has evolved to become more digital, so has the banking industry.
One exceptional outcome of digital banking is that more customers have access to banking services than ever before. The only downside is that banks must now figure out how to handle these larger customer pools, and provide them with the same level of service they would receive in-branch.
Enter omnichannel banking — a strategy that strives to provide a seamless experience for customers across all available channels. Sounds like a good deal, right?
The omnichannel banking experience is certainly advantageous. Yet, it is not without its own challenges. To create impactful omnichannel banking experiences, financial organizations need to focus not only on implementing the necessary technologies to support an omnichannel system, but also on building personalized experiences for customers which maintain human touchpoints and support, even across digital channels.
What is Omnichannel Banking?
Omnichannel banking is a method of banking in which customers can access accounts, products, and services through multiple touchpoints. This includes both in-person and digital channels, such as a visit to a physical branch location or accessing banking services through an online account.
Other channels encompassed in omnichannel banking include:
- SMS/Text message communication
- Mobile apps
- Call centers
- Virtual chats and chatbots
It is important to note that omnichannel banking is not the same as multi-channel banking.
In multi-channel banking, customers have access to many different channels, such as all of those described above. However, omnichannel banking ensures customers have seamless experiences across all channels, while multi-channel banking does not synchronize channels in this way.
For example, let’s say a customer wants to apply for a loan.
Omnichannel banking would allow this customer to begin the loan application process via one channel (such as in-person at a bank branch) and complete the loan via a different channel (such as an online account). Additionally, omnichannel banking ensures that customer can access their loan account and information from any channel at any time to view the most up-to-date information.
By contrast, a multi-channel approach offers an “either-or” scenario. Either the customer can complete the loan application entirely in-person or entirely digitally. Though the loan application is available through both channels, the customer’s progress and information are not necessarily synchronized across the two.
An omnichannel approach to banking ultimately strives to link all routes of support and access to enable customers to have all their needs met regardless of which channel they are using.
The State of Omnichannel Banking in 2023
Omnichannel comes from humble beginnings.
Though no one can say for certain, it is generally thought that the term “omnichannel” first appeared in 2010 in an IDC Retail Insights report. Initially, the omnichannel approach was intended primarily for marketing. The term gained some early traction in the early 2010s, but did not become a prominent concept in the financial industry until around the latter half of the decade.
One statement from a 2019 McKinsey article perfectly captures the prevailing thinking about omnichannel at the time:
The early days of omnichannel banking were all about combining human and digital channels, while today’s omnichannel banking experience has taken on a life of its own. While the synchronization of person-based and digital communication is still the basis ofomnichannel banking, the approach has evolved to also encompass the communication and operational needs of the bank itself.
A more recent 2023 McKinsey article highlights this shift in omnichannel banking strategies, stating:
“Shifting from an omnichannel model to fully mobile orchestrated, integrated channels enables banks to achieve genuine differentiation through an innovative and personalized customer experience. Leading institutions are already unlocking the value from greater customer satisfaction and loyalty, simplified operations, optimized investments, higher productivity, increased revenues, and faster growth.”
The Role of Automation in the Omnichannel Banking Experience
Omnichannel banking, at its core, is focused on the integration of both physical and virtual banking into one seamless experience. While this presents enormous benefits, it also presents operational challenges.
To keep an omnichannel banking system operating smoothly, automation is a necessity. Tasks like customer onboarding, risk assessments, and compliance management can all require burdensome levels of manual labor which can be optimized through automation.
The only problem? Too much automation can lead to an impersonal omnichannel banking experience.
In a world managed by robots and algorithms, customers want to feel as though they are personally cared for and able to communicate with real people — not just AI.
As such, banks that apply automation to help manage an omnichannel system must be highly cognizant of how that automation is applied. Human touchpoints need to be built into the experience along the way, even if these touchpoints are optional for the customer.
Keep this in mind as we discuss the omnichannel banking case study below.
Case Study: Real-World Applications of the Omnichannel Banking Experience
Meet David.
David is a new banking customer that wants to open a banking account. However, due to his current financial circumstances, David did not meet the approval requirements and was only accepted for a pre-paid online account. To access this account, David was issued a card that provides access to the account.
Unfortunately, David lost his card, leading to a loss of access to his online accounts.
He took several steps to remedy this issue, including contacting the bank to receive a new account pin via an automated email. This automated email sent the pin to David’s phone, which would have worked, except David also lost his phone, once again preventing him from accessing the online account. David contacted the bank again to explain his situation, but was once again met with an automated email.
As a result, David lost access to his online account and gave up trying to regain access entirely.
How could omnichannel banking have improved David’s experience?
We can identify three key ways:
1. Multiple Access Points:
The heart of this problem lies in the limited number of access points David has available to him. To access his online account, he should have been given both a card and an account username and password. Additionally, David should have been given the option to list more than just his phone number as a backup communication channel, such as a backup email or his mailing address.
2. Human Support:
Though David tried to remedy the situation by contacting the bank numerous times, he was never able to receive direct human support. Automation can be a powerful tool for lightening the operational burden of omnichannel banking — however, there must be proper controls in place to send notifications to a banking support team when a customer is repeatedly running into the same issue and receiving the same automated feedback.
3. Follow-Up Support:
In an optimized scenario, David would be able to regain access to his account even without his phone by communicating directly with a support team member. After the problem is resolved, it can be crucial for a banking team to ensure that the same problem does not occur again. Providing follow-up support, such as a reminder to add a second or third method of contact to David’s account, could be the key to helping David make better use of his account.
Top Omnichannel Banking Trends 2023
Here are three key omnichannel banking advancements making an impact in 2023:
1. Augmented Reality:
Augmented reality (AR) is a type of technology that uses digital information, visuals, and virtual objects to create engaging experiences for customers. In banking, AR can be applied to enable banking customers to virtually utilize financial tools, products, and services, all from the comfort of their homes. By leveraging AR for omnichannel banking, banks can more easily create human-like experiences for customers that mimic real-life branch visits.
2. Personalized Virtual Interactions:
While smaller community banks and credit unions may be able to personalize each customer experience manually, larger banks simply cannot accomplish this without the help of automation. The key to making automation feel more human-like is by ensuring personalization is built into the automation process. For example, a bank could provide personalized recommendations and advice to customers accessing their accounts online by automating analyses of each customer’s behaviors, preferences, and other key factors.
3. Self-Service Banking:
Customers these days have grown accustomed to digital experiences and managing their own online accounts. As such, omnichannel banking must provide customers with the option to engage in self-service banking. Self-service banking empowers customers to take themselves through various financial processes, with minimal to moderate external guidance from the bank itself. This guidance often comes in the form of non-human support, such as chatbots, that have been programmed to leverage natural language processing and machine learning to provide self-service customers with robust support.
Build Effective Omnichannel Banking Experiences with Exadel
At the end of the day, omnichannel banking has its fair share of complexities.
To make the most effective use of omnichannel, partner with Exadel. The Exadel team comprises omnichannel banking experts who have long championed the powers of the omnichannel approach.
Our team meets your organization where it’s at in its omnichannel journey, and helps you to build a strong omnichannel banking strategy that fosters operational resilience and customer satisfaction.