More businesses are recognising the value of outstanding customer service. In fact, 88% of companies now prioritise customer experience in their contact centres.

For fintech companies in particular, quality Business to Business (B2B) customer support is crucial as it provides an opportunity for them to differentiate themselves from traditional bricks-and-mortar financial institutions. Additionally, due to the sensitivity of the fintech ecosystem – talking about money and handling financial information – strong relationships between fintechs and their customer base are imperative. Providing an outstanding customer support experience can strengthen these relationships.

To achieve this, fintech companies should look to refine three key pillars of their customer support stack, including brand recognition, voice of the customer, and service quality. The fintech’s who truly understand and consider all of these when developing their B2B customer support systems will be successful in building long-term relationships with customers.

Brand recognition

According to Gartner, when businesses provide strong customer service and value-driven interactions, customers are 86% more likely to repurchase and 97% more likely to spread positive word-of-mouth reviews. This confirms that quality customer service and brand recognition go hand in hand. A strong brand does not just build customer trust, but can also establish perceptions of quality, value, and satisfaction.

B2B companies have an added layer of complexity to perform well compared to their consumer-facing counterparts. As these customers are whole businesses that rely on these products for their own commercial performance, there is often an increased expectation for fast customer service response times. In fact, it is so important that organisations are willing to pay up to 30% more for a better customer experience. A positive experience can increase word-of-mouth referrals, which is a key factor influencing whether a business chooses to become a customer of a given fintech.

 Voice of the customer

As fintechs are responsible for their customers’ money and data, they must understand their wants, expectations and preferences. A business who feels understood by the fintech they work with is more likely to feel reassured that their information is safe and have confidence in their legal protections. The Voice of Customer (VoC) is an invaluable asset for businesses, providing crucial insights into the needs, preferences, and feedback of customers and prospects. By actively listening to the Voice of Customer, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of their target audience, their pain points, and their expectations. This customer-centric approach allows businesses to align their strategies, products, and services with customer needs, leading to improved customer satisfaction, loyalty, and ultimately, business growth.

Moreover, fintech companies stand to gain from cultivating a culture of trust with their customers. By prioritising customer value and care, customers are more likely to engage in upselling opportunities and even become brand advocates, recommending the company to others. Thus, a well-executed customer service strategy can serve as a powerful conversion tool, reinforced by positive social proof.

For example at Mangopay, we use some consumer intelligence acceleration Platforms to enable businesses to harness the power of VoC data to drive impactful business outcomes. By leveraging advanced data analytics, machine learning, and real-time insights, these platforms enable our business to uncover hidden patterns, trends, and opportunities within customer feedback. This actionable intelligence empowers Mangopay to make informed decisions, optimise our offerings, and proactively address customer needs. With the ability to quickly and effectively respond to customer demands, we can gain a competitive edge, enhance customer experiences, and drive our business success in today’s fast-paced and customer-centric market.

Fintechs that truly understand not only the way their customers think but also why they think a certain way, will be able to provide a far more personalised experience. This level of insight allows fintechs to adapt and iterate their customer service offering to cater to each customer’s needs.

Service quality

Research has found that the most common customer service pain points are being placed on hold while waiting for a call to be answered; not being able to speak to someone directly; having to repeat information; and being passed from agent to agent. As B2B average transaction values can be much higher than that of Business to Consumer (B2C) companies, it is vital that extra care is taken to eliminate these pain points and provide a premium service. By taking these steps, fintechs can deliver a seamless and efficient customer service experience, instilling confidence in their customers and building a reputation for exceptional service. This, in turn, can lead to increased customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and positive word-of-mouth referrals, ultimately contributing to the long-term success of the fintech company.

For some fintechs, better service quality can be achieved by internalising their support teams. This method can provide customers with faster assistance, raise Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores and improve the understanding of customers and clients. At present, customer service is one of the largest outsourced functions for corporations, financial institutions, and large enterprises – with the call centre outsourcing sector expected to grow by $21.72 billion between 2022-2026. Bringing this function in house could support rebuilding best-in-class customer service.

While internalising support teams can be successful, it’s not necessarily the right option for every fintech company. One thing that is certain, however, is that no matter how a fintech choses to run its customer service team, following the three pillars of B2B customer support is essential for success.

About the Author

Cédric Galins is Head of Customer Support & Services at Mangopay.

Forex trading can be a complex and overwhelming experience for customers, and the customer service experience can make all the difference.

In today’s competitive market, forex companies must prioritize customer service to stand out and retain their customers. In this article, we will look at some ways forex companies can improve their customer service and create a positive experience for their clients.

Understanding the Customer’s Needs

The key to providing excellent customer service is understanding the customer’s needs. Forex companies should take the time to understand their customers’ goals, trading strategies, and preferred methods of communication. This can be done through:

• surveys
• feedback forms
• customer service interactions

By understanding the customers’ needs, forex companies can tailor their services and offerings to meet their clients’ expectations.

Providing High-Quality Education Material

Forex trading can be overwhelming to customers who are new to the industry. Providing high-quality educational material can make all the difference in providing excellent customer service. Forex companies can provide resources such as webinars, e-books, and interactive tutorials to help customers become more knowledgeable about trading. By doing so, customers will feel more empowered to make better trading decisions and that will ultimately lead to higher satisfaction rates.

Offer Multiple Channels for Communication

Forex companies should offer multiple communication channels for their customers. Some clients may prefer to communicate via phone, while others prefer email or chat. By offering multiple communication channels, clients can reach out to the company in a way that is most convenient for them. Additionally, forex companies must make sure that their customer service response time is prompt and efficient. Customers will appreciate a fast response time and feel more confident in their dealings with the company.

Qualified Employees

Traders should have an educational background in finance or economics to understand the complexities of the forex market. They should also possess strong communication skills to communicate effectively with clients. The qualifications forex traders need is continuously evolving, so companies should make sure their customer service teams are up to date on the latest trends and regulations. This will help them provide customers with accurate information and advice.

Continuous Training

Forex companies should invest in industry training for their customer service teams to ensure that they have the necessary knowledge and skills to provide an excellent customer experience.

People working in this field must have a comprehensive understanding of the forex market and international trading practices. They should also have experience with technical analysis, risk management, and money management.

Use Technology to Enhance the Customer Experience

Advances in technology have made it easier for forex companies to enhance the customer service experience. By leveraging automation and AI technology, forex companies can offer 24/7 customer service and support. Chatbots can handle simple customer service requests, freeing up human representatives to handle more complex inquiries. Additionally, forex companies can use data analytics to understand trends and patterns in customer behavior and use this information to improve their services.

Invest in a CRM System

Customer relationship management (CRM) software is essential for forex companies to provide excellent customer service. A CRM system can help them track client inquiries and follow up with their customers when needed. Additionally, a CRM system can help forex companies keep organized records of past interactions, allowing them to better understand the needs of their clients. With a CRM system in place, forex companies can quickly and efficiently address customer inquiries and provide better service.

Leading forex CRM software vendors:

• Syntellicore
• B2Core
• Leverate
• Finalto
• Syntellicore
• CurrentDesk

Speak Your Customer’s Language

Offering multi-lingual customer service can greatly enhance the customer experience. By being able to communicate in the client’s native language, forex companies can provide a more tailored and personalized customer service experience. Additionally, it ensures that all customers are given equal access to information and support regardless of their language proficiency.

Demonstrate empathy with customers

Finally, one of the most important aspects of providing excellent customer service is displaying empathy. Forex traders should be patient and understanding when dealing with clients and strive to provide a positive experience for them. By listening carefully and showing genuine concern, forex companies can build trust with their customers and develop long-lasting relationships.

Conclusion

In today’s competitive market, forex companies must prioritize customer service to stand out from the competition. By understanding the customer’s needs, providing high-quality educational material, using multiple communication channels, and leveraging technology, forex companies can create a positive customer service experience. This will ultimately lead to higher customer satisfaction rates, increased client retention, and improved profitability.

Financial services leaders are increasing their focus on digital-first initiatives to optimize the customer experience and increase retention and loyalty – a trend that emerged out of pandemic necessity and became a preference that is here to stay.

Verint, The Customer Engagement Company, has conducted independent research into the banking and financial services sector. The data provides insights into how financial services organizations are doing in their digital transformation and customer experience initiatives.

The Importance of a Digital-First Mindset

Leveraging digital-first engagement channels has a two-pronged benefit: enabling customers to self-serve at the same time it alleviates volumes for workers on the customer front lines. The rise of digital channels has financial services leaders asking a new set of questions: How do we use artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to deliver the right mix of self-service and human-enabled engagement to drive better customer experience?

Verint’s research on the Engagement Capacity Gap shows 62 percent of financial services leaders say digital-first engagement is their top priority. In addition, financial services firms face challenges that must be addressed including understanding and quickly acting on changing consumer behaviors (say 55%), obtaining a unified view of customer engagement from siloed interaction data (say 54%), building enduring customer relationships (say 53%), and managing the growing volume of customer interactions (says 51%).

In an environment where it’s even more expensive to acquire a new customer – while remaining extremely important to retain the ones you have – banks need to move quickly to understand and satisfy customer needs. This is likely why 66 percent say capturing voice of the customer (VoC) insights and using them to drive decisions for experience management is a high priority among their technology initiatives.

AI is the common thread that untangles the more cumbersome parts of customer engagement. That may be why 84 percent of business leaders say expanding AI and automation are top priorities this year to help improve customer interactions and enhance overall customer and employee experiences.

Optimizing Digital-First Customer Engagement

Verint’s most recent VXI for Banking report provides insight and guidance for banks as they put digital-first strategies in place. Digital channels are popular for consumers when engaging in straightforward tasks such as researching a product or service (57%), conducting a transaction (53%), and applying for a product or service (49%).

When a task is more complex, however, customers prefer a human-assisted interaction. When asked about the last time they needed to resolve an issue with their accounts, 54 percent of consumers first called the bank or visited a branch or drive-through.

Around half of those who had to resolve an issue with their account or online access said it was harder than anticipated. In fact, 29 percent of Millennials and 28 percent of Gen Z consumers spent more effort than expected to complete the primary reason for online banking.

Thirty percent of each of these generations said they would switch to a different financial institution if it required no effort on their part. Additionally, nearly two-thirds of Gen Z and Millennials who found it more difficult than expected to complete a task would make the switch.

Improving the Branch Experience for In-Person Service

Over the past few years, banks have rationalized their brick-and-mortar operations amidst shutdowns and as digital banking has grown during the pandemic. The banking industry is challenged with a scenario where they need to make it easy for personal human interactions between their employees and their customers to occur, even while overall visits to branches are still low.

Banks are calling back furloughed staff, reallocating team members who were solely dedicated to digital channels and rethinking how to adequately staff bank branches to meet fluctuating needs for in-person service.

Verint’s research highlights the need for banks to improve the in-branch experience as a crucial way to improve customer experience and satisfaction. Nearly 40 percent of consumers who visited branches reported they were left waiting longer than expected.

Banks should consider the addition of digital technology to improve the in-branch experience. Digital channels can be used by customers to make appointments through online forms or automated messaging flows. Customers can receive reminder alerts and information concerning the appointment, while branches can prepare for the volume and timing of appointments and allocate resources accordingly.

Supporting the Financial Well-being of Younger Customers

Supporting the financial well-being of younger consumers was also highlighted in our research as a vital customer experience and satisfaction factor.

In last year’s VXI for Banking report, Gen Z and Millennial consumers led the way in adopting new additive banking services such as micropayment apps like Venmo and Zelle. This year’s research shows a continuation of the need to expand banking offerings to incorporate new financial tools and technologies to empower younger consumers with the means to better manage their finances. Gen Z and Millennial banking consumers say they need more help cutting costs, tracking subscriptions, creating budgets, and managing expenses.

With the pressures of global inflation rising, assistance with financial management is likely to have a bigger impact on younger generations than it might have in the past. With many younger consumers willing to switch banking providers, banks must offer products and services to help address the gap in Gen Z and Millennials’ financial knowledge to retain a loyal customer base for the long-term. This is critical, especially given the fact that over the next decade experts say Millennials and Gen Z stand to gain trillions of dollars from previous generations in the greatest wealth transfer the country has ever experienced.

Embracing and Evolving Omnichannel in Financial Services

Financial services organizations must recognize that customers expect to interact on the engagement channel of their choice, and that the number and kind of channels has exploded compared with previous concepts of omnichannel. From live chat to messaging apps, email to social media, customers expect an effortless experience regardless of channel.

To meet these increased expectations, a new approach is needed to meet customer expectations as interactions grow and enable financial institutions to engage in a truly omnichannel way. A unified digital engagement strategy that powers customer conversations, integrates bots and AI, and is supported by knowledge is critical to this approach.

Engagement orchestration is needed to intelligently unify all customer interactions – both voice and digital. Powering asynchronous, customer-centric experiences that go beyond channels to connect the customer journey, engagement orchestration helps brands anticipate needs and orchestrate both the workforce and experience for the right outcome across any channel.

About the Author

Jenni Palocsik is vice president, marketing insights, experience and enablement at Verint.

When it comes to money, it’s responsible to make informed choices regarding who you do business with, especially in banking.

Entrusting your hard-earned income to an establishment isn’t something that you should do haphazardly. Consumers deserve a bank that offers competitive rates, innovative financial products, and quality services.

Unfortunately, the relationship between banks and consumers varies. As fees increase, interest rates decrease, and customer experiences decline, consumers become hesitant to trust the banks they have come to rely on. That’s why ONE has stepped on the scene and started to change the game when it comes to banking.

Introducing ONE

In 2019 in Sacramento, CA, ONE was established with a primary objective to simplify the lives and finances of everyday consumers. As more than just a place to store your paychecks and savings, ONE has gone above and beyond to exceed customer expectations and strengthen banking relationships.

Fee-Free Banking

Consumers love saving money wherever they can, and ONE makes that possible with its fee-free banking solutions. Account holders never have to worry about being charged for minimum balances, monthly maintenance, foreign transactions, wire transfers, overdrafts, insufficient funds, or ATM transactions.

3-Step Signup

Getting started with ONE is as easy as 1-2-3. Simply visit their site, click the “Join ONE” button, create your customer profile, verify your identity, and wait for your ONE card to arrive.

Add Funds With Ease

ONE provides its customers with multiple methods to add funds to their accounts. You can transfer funds from an external account, send a wire transfer, set up direct deposit, mobile check deposits, or through other peer-to-peer services like CashApp, PayPal, and Venmo.

Mobile Banking

Adding more banking convenience, ONE has an easy-to-use mobile app that provides 24/7 access and real-time alerts. Customers can view account balances, transfer funds, make payments, deposit checks, share account data (with authorized users), and more from their computer, laptop, smartphone, or tablet.

Pockets (Efficient Budgeting Tools)

Budgets are hard to stick to. While many apps already exist to make budgeting more manageable, not everyone wants to deal with multiple financial apps to stay on target. ONE has found an effective way to make budgeting easy, convenient, and safe for its customers.

Pockets are sub-accounts connected to a ONE debit card. There are three primary Pockets called Save, Auto-Save, and Spend. The Spend Pocket is where funds are received from various payment sources. The Save Pocket is an interest-bearing sub-account where customers benefit from an interest rate of 1.00% APY. Lastly, the Auto-Save Pocket is where ONE rounds up transaction amounts to the nearest dollar and transfers the change to accrue 3.00% APY.

ONE customers can also customize up to 99 Pockets to correlate with their monthly budget and expenses. They can create Pockets for everything from mortgage and utilities to groceries and pet care. When funds are deposited into the Spend Pocket, customers can easily divide the money into the necessary categories to ensure timely payments. Pockets help track spending, eliminate waste, and save money.

Customer Service At Its Best

That’s just the tip of the iceberg regarding. ONE also encourages its customers to reach out for white glove service, whenever needed.

They are available by phone or chat M-F between 8 am and 5 pm PST. Emails are also welcomed 24/7. They host a Knowledge Center where customers can self educate about ONE’s products and get their questions answered.

Finally, ONE has a strong internet presence on popular social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn, where consumers can get tips, financial advice, promotional offers, and interact with their bank more personally.

When it comes to banking, ONE is making a difference. With high-interest rates, zero fees, easy account access, budgeting tools, and multiple communication channels, customers can finally let their guard down and get more from banking.

The financial services industry is one of the most important sectors in the global economy. It is also one of the most competitive. To stay ahead of the competition, financial service providers need to focus on providing excellent customer service.

In this article, we will discuss ten ways financial service companies can improve the customer service they provide, create loyal customers and boost their bottom line.

1. Deliver personalized customer experiences

An important way financial services companies can improve the customer experience is by personalizing the service they provide. By taking the time to get to know their customers and understand their needs, financial service providers can provide a more tailored experience that meets the specific needs of each individual customer. In addition, by using customer data to identify trends and making recommendations companies will improve the overall customer experience. By taking advantage of these opportunities, financial services companies can ensure that their customers receive the best possible service.

2. Offer self-service options

Self-service can take many forms, but typically it means providing customers with a way to access and manage their accounts without having to contact customer service. For example, financial institutions can offer self-service through online portals or mobile apps. This allows customers to check their balances or transfer funds online quickly. Mobile apps are particularly popular with students who can apply for a student loan without having to wait on hold or speak to a customer service representative. In addition, self-service can help financial institutions save money by reducing the need for customer service staff. As a result, self-service is a win-win for both financial services companies and their customers.

3. Provide a seamless customer experience

Seamless customer experience has become the new standard for financial services. In a world where customers can bank, shop, and book travel with a few clicks, they expect the same level of convenience from their financial providers. Unfortunately, many financial institutions have been slow to adopt new technologies and have fallen behind in providing a seamless customer experience. As a result, customers are increasingly turning to fintech startups that offer more modern solutions. These companies are able to provide a smoother customer experience by leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as cloud-based banking, mobile apps, and Big Data analytics. By offering a more streamlined and efficient financial service, these companies are able to attract and retain customers in an increasingly competitive market.

4. Offer a choice of customer service channels

Customers want choice when it comes to customer service channels. They want the option to contact customer service through phone, email, chat, or social media. Financial institutions that offer all of these channels will be more likely to meet the needs of their customers. In addition, financial services companies should make sure that their customer service channels are staffed with qualified employees who can provide the best possible service. By offering a variety of channels and staffing them with knowledgeable employees, financial institutions can ensure that their customers are happy and satisfied.

5. Break down internal silos

In order to provide the best possible service to their customers, financial services companies need to break down the silos that often exist between departments. For example, when a customer has a question about their account, they should be able to get a quick and accurate answer from customer service, without being transferred to multiple departments. Similarly, when new products or services are being developed, all relevant departments should be involved in the process, in order to ensure that the final product meets the needs of the customer. Breaking down silos requires organizations to develop better communication and collaboration between departments, but the benefits are clear. By working together, financial services providers can provide a better experience for their customers and stay ahead of the competition.

6. Adopt the latest financial services technology

The financial services industry is constantly evolving, and so is the technology that supports it. In order to provide the best possible customer service, organizations must continually assess and adopt the latest technologies. Here are some of the most important technologies for the financial services industry:

• Cloud computing: Companies are increasingly using cloud-based applications and services. This allows them to be more agile and responsive to customer needs.

• Mobile apps: More and more people are conducting financial transactions on their mobile devices. Financial service providers must have robust mobile apps that allow customers to access their accounts easily and securely.

• Big data: Financial companies hold a huge amount of data, which can be used to improve customer service. By harnessing the power of big data, they can gain insights into customer behavior and preferences.

• Artificial intelligence (AI): AI can be used to provide better customer service. AI can be used to answer customer questions, identify financial risks, and recommend products and services.

7. Educate for financial literacy

The financial services industry can educate customers on financial literacy by providing customer service that is attentive and informative. When customers have questions about their finances, financial advisors should be available to provide clear and concise answers. In addition, financial institutions can offer educational resources on their websites or in their physical locations. These resources can include blog posts, infographics, and pamphlets that cover topics such as budgeting, saving for retirement, and understanding credit scores. By making these resources available, financial companies can help customers develop a better understanding of personal finance. They can also partner with local organizations to host financial literacy workshops in the community. These workshops can provide valuable information on a variety of topics, and they can also give attendees the opportunity to ask questions about their personal financial situation.

8. Empower employees

Financial services organizations can give employees the ability to provide better customer service. When staff are knowledgeable about financial products and services, they can answer customer questions more effectively and help them make informed decisions. Second, they can help employees feel more empowered in their roles. When staff understand financial concepts and how they can impact customers, they feel more confident in their abilities to provide excellent customer service. By learning about financial concepts and products, employees can broaden their skill sets and become more well-rounded customer service professionals. Ultimately, financial services can play a big role in empowering customer service staff to deliver exceptional service.

9. Map the customer journey

In an increasingly competitive landscape, it’s more important than ever to ensure that every interaction with a customer is positive and helpful. Part of providing great customer service is understanding the sequence of steps that a customer takes as they interact with your company.

The financial services industry can use mapping to gain insights into the customer journey. By tracking every touchpoint from initial contact to post-purchase follow-up, companies can identify areas where the customer experience could be improved. In some cases, mapping the customer journey can also help financial services companies to anticipate customer needs and proactively address any potential issues.By better understanding the customer journey, companies can develop a more holistic view of the customer experience. This, in turn, will help them to improve customer service and stay ahead of the competition.

10. Be transparent

In today’s financial services industry, customers are constantly bombarded with choices. Banks, credit card companies, and other financial institutions are all vying for attention, and it can be difficult to know who to trust. In such a competitive environment, transparency is critical. Companies need to be clear about their fees, policies, and procedures. Customers should never feel like they are being taken advantage of or misled. When companies are transparent with their customers, it builds trust and loyalty. As the financial services industry becomes increasingly competitive, those companies that embrace transparency will be the ones that thrive.

Companies in the financial services industry should focus on creating a positive customer experience. This means providing a high-quality product or service, and delivering it in a timely and efficient manner. It is also important to be responsive to customer feedback. By following these tips, financial service providers can improve their customer service and increase their bottom line.

The past 18 months have illustrated consumers’ urgent need for financial flexibility and when they’re the ones dictating terms, you listen. Choosing not to could spell extinction for banks. Mambu’s Eelco-Jan Boonstra, explains.

According to a joint research “Evolve or be extinct” from Mambu and the Financial Times, 58 % of senior bank executives believe their bank’s operations will cease if they don’t revamp to a consumer-obsessed business model. As an industry that continues to lag behind others, monolithic banks are in dire need of renovation.

There are, however, a few contenders who understand the necessity of digitisation and are putting consumers at the forefront of their approach. These financial ‘Evolvers’ include fintechs, challenger banks and forward-thinking traditional players that are laying the foundations for modern-day banking. Through a laser-like focus on customer centricity, they layer their business models with agile offerings and a progressive social purpose.

What really separates the Evolvers from the Legacies?

Legacy banks can’t keep up because they don’t have the capabilities to do it all themselves. A third of banks are unable to deploy updated or new products at speed and lack qualified employees, with the skill sets needed to operate new technology. Well over a third also don’t have the appropriate systems to support new workforce models. This explains why two fifths of senior executives intend to modernise their platform, but plan on doing so through third-party providers.

This is where the Evolvers race ahead. For example, by working with fintech partners to help them quickly respond to consumer demand, Evolvers are able to harness cloud-based platforms to deploy flexible financial products and achieve a seamless transition to digital.

Evolution starts and ends with a consumer mindset

After a turbulent 18 months for the global economy, consumers are increasingly seeking more control over their finances, and want banks to support them with the tools and services that can help during challenging times.

Evolving banks are doing exactly that, positioning themselves as “lifestyle partners” able t0 provide accessible financial products that are customer-centric and offer users a 360-degree view of their financial lives. This is crucial in a post-pandemic world and illustrates why nearly half of Evolvers rank the customer experience as their top digitisation priority.

As a result, banks identify new customer opportunities and deliver highly relevant offers at the right moments. Consumers enjoy these sorts of financial offerings too, as the report indicates that Evolvers see 24% stronger engagement levels compared to traditional banks.

But consumer engagement like this doesn’t just come from sought after products, it’s deeper than that.

It’s time for banks to show they care

 Consumers increasingly desire to feel valued and want to see financial players act on these needs. Evolvers do this by making emotional intelligence a key part of their business model. By being transparent with their customers and committing to a clear social purpose, their progressive thinking stands out in an industry slow to change – enabling a competitive advantage in a saturated arena.

 The biggest social cause Evolvers emphasise is the ideology of people over profits. They focus on meeting consumer demand in a way that’s both sustainable and delivers a best-in-class customer experience. This hasn’t gone unnoticed by the wider industry. In fact, 81% of retail banking leaders strongly agree that replacing outdated mindsets with a progressive social purpose is vital to growth strategy.

 The best part of this ideology? It’s not just words. Mambu’s report shows that profits have actually slipped down the priority list for banks as ‘increasing earnings’ was identified as only the fifth most important factor when adopting a consumer-oriented model. It is this train of thought that will move the industry forward, while those who hold onto their legacies get left behind.

Moving forward

As most industries become consumer obsessed it’s important that banks emulate this approach to remain competitive. The key to this will be the ability to offer intertwined services that are seamlessly integrated under one roof.

It is this interoperability that banks must adopt to fend off growing competition from technology giants, such as Google and Amazon, as well as stay one step ahead of new market entrants. Failing to do so will leave traditional banks on the sidelines, as forward-thinking players surge ahead in the battle for the customer.

When facing doubts about the future, banks should look to financial Evolvers for guidance. By placing the customer experience and progressive mindsets at the core of their business, they have proven that banks can continue to play an important role in modern society.

About the Author

Eelco-Jan Boonstra is Managing Director EMEA at Mambu.

It’s no secret that the global pandemic accelerated digital transformation in almost every industry—and banking was no exception. Eric Head, VP of Experience Leadership at Verint explores new opportunities to provide excellent customer service.

As branches shut down due to COVID-19 regulations, customers turned to digital channels to conduct their business. Changing behaviors meant banks had to adapt quickly to meet new customer service needs.

Now, as we head into this next stage with an eye toward recovery, it’s clear that the patterns customers adopted during the height of the crisis won’t go away anytime soon. McKinsey reports that 75% of people who used digital channels for the first time during the pandemic indicated they will continue to use them when things return to “normal.”

Even before this past year, customers were increasingly choosing digital channels to start their customer journey. This trend is good news for banks. Digital channels offer improved convenience and security for consumers while cutting costs and boosting efficiency for banks. Many banks have been encouraging customers to go online for more than a decade.

There’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take advantage of increased digital traffic, provide excellent customer service in other channels, and unify omnichannel insights to improve bottom-line business results.

Digital First, But Omnichannel Still Rules

Due in large part to the pandemic, closed branches, and social distancing guidelines, our research shows customers tried digital before turning to agent-led support channels in 2021. These shifts in behavior represent huge potential savings when self-service works effectively.

Consider this: of people who reached out to a contact center, 73% had tried a digital channel first, according to the Verint Experience Index (VXI): Banking report published earlier this year. That translates into $1.6 million in potential savings for organizations when customers can self-service on digital channels instead of turning to the high-cost contact center.

However, not all customers will opt for digital first, so it’s important to meet them where they want to interact with you. The contact center still plays a crucial role in the customer experience strategy, but there’s an opportunity to break down silos across the contact center and digital teams.

Customer journeys are increasingly complex. According to the Verint report, bank customers use an average of 4.1 different channels in a single month. The picture becomes even more complex when drilling down into generational cohorts. Baby Boomers are consistent and comfortable with the desktop website, according to the report. However, Generation X and Millennials move effortlessly across all channels, from website, mobile app, branch, ATM, drive-thru, and everything in between. While Baby Boomers use an average of 2.3 channels per month, Generation X and Millennials use 5.3 and 5.1 channels, respectively.

Banks need to optimize the customer experience across the full journey because customers will use multiple touchpoints according to task, generation, and preference. Although customers are choosing digital first at an accelerated rate and prefer self-service and social channels, they still expect informed, relevant, and authentic interactions—including human interaction—when they want it.

That means banks can’t think “digital only.” Companies need to provide a consistent experience anywhere customers engage.

Unify Omnichannel Insights for Better Results

Most banks know by now that providing an excellent customer experience is a business imperative. Extensive research shows that highly satisfied customers are more likely to use digital channels, recommend the company, remain loyal, and buy additional products and services. When compared with less satisfied customers, highly satisfied customers are 121% more likely to sign up for additional services and 107% more likely to recommend the company, according to the Verint research.

Most banks, therefore, have some way to assess the customer experience in each channel. But banks often remain siloed, with separate and distinct business units that don’t know what the other is doing.

Consider the following scenarios:

• Customers start pre-approvals for loan applications online and are directed to a local branch to complete the process. Customers use the website to provide feedback on the overall journey, so the digital team knows that loan applicants often end up calling the contact center when the local loan officer isn’t able to help them. What if the digital leader had a quick and easy way to share these insights with her colleagues in branches and the contact center to better empower branch employees, coach agents on this topic, and improve customer experiences?

• Jordan is a contact center agent who scores very well on metrics like average call time and first-call resolution. But how is she making customers feel? Are customers more or less likely to recommend the bank after an interaction with her? Are they more or less likely to open a new account? Traditional contact center metrics don’t provide a holistic view of agent performance that takes the customer into account. In other words, traditional metrics don’t provide a balanced scorecard to evaluate and coach agents.

• The mortgage and checking account teams both have important initiatives underway. They want to get customer feedback to help inform these projects. But customers who have both mortgages and checking accounts get multiple, poorly timed surveys that collide to create a frustrating experience.

• The contact center knows that a huge volume of calls come in because there is a lack of clarity on the “apply for a mortgage page.” The diagnosis and solution for this problem lives in three silos: mortgage, digital, and contact center. Imagine how quickly this could be corrected and how many more customers could self-service if all three were integrated and everyone had access to each other’s data?

The only solution to these common challenges is a holistic approach to customer experience, unified across silos and business units. A wide-angle, macro view is mandatory to see and resolve problem areas. That may sound intimidating, but a unified and business-wide approach to customer experience actually simplifies and amplifies efforts.

 The Future of Banking: Omnichannel and Integrated

How can banks prepare for constantly evolving customer expectations to ensure the customer experience continues to deliver? A unified customer experience management program allows organizations to garner deep insights into the customer experience to determine potential hang-ups in the customer journey.

Banks should prepare for continued high volumes in the contact center channels, and capture and measure insights from customers through interaction experience solutions like post-chat or post-call IVR surveys. Insights here allow you to listen, analyze, then act by capturing customer feedback immediately after an experience, enabling real-time alerting to issues and speeding time to resolution, allowing you to close the loop. It’s also important to move beyond just having survey data in your customer experience program.  Mining unstructured text input from social media channels or call recordings from agent/consumer interactions can also provide a much richer set of data to help diagnose issues that are driving lower KPI scores.  And finally, tools like digital behavior analytics enable organizations at the aggregate level to visualize what customers experience in digital channels to identify issues—and opportunities—and then act quickly.

Simply put, while all customer channels are important to the overall strategy, digital and contact center need to be the two anchor points. With an always-on listening program—and a platform that can synthesize all the disparate customer experience data sources—the contact center and digital teams now have good intel to share with each other. Organizations can tie contact center post-call or chat data and digital experience data together to uncover omnichannel customer experience trends for deeper analysis and action. It’s about getting the right data to the right person at the right time to make better decisions that drive improvements and efficiencies for both the customer and the bank.

About the Author

Eric Head is VP of Experience Leadership at Verint. With close to 20 years in the customer experience (CX) space, Eric has worked with clients across several industries to establish their measurement programs and improve the experiences they deliver. He has been instrumental in building Verint’s Experience Management program and client base and is a frequent speaker on CX best practices.

Thanks to the technological revolution, customer service has become a key factor which distinguishes companies in the financial services and insurance (FSI) industry.

Here are some ways the financial sector can measure their customer service, identify gaps and take steps to improve the customer experience (CX).

1. Get Customer Feedback

Without customer feedback, it’s impossible to improve the customer experience. The client’s experience is better understood when they have rated your service, so the first step is to perform a survey. Bear in mind customers don’t like anything that is time-consuming or difficult and may lose their engagement if they log in to an online portal and find a complex form to complete. Instead, send emails with links to the survey information. Make them concise and useful and offer incentives such as entry into a competition. Both customer and company will benefit from this.

2. Move to Multi-Channel

It’s no secret that an increasing number of people are switching to online and mobile financial services. People do not need to call or visit a branch office anymore as everything can be done online. This move is having a significant impact on the future of customer support.

The main customer support channels are now:

• Live chat
• Phone
• Video chat
• Social media
• Email

Make sure you are meeting your customers at their preferred channels and your organization can handle the expected volume of customer interactions, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

3. Train Your Employees

Your customer service representatives are responsible for providing customer support in relation to financial products such as a personal loan. It’s therefore important that they are fully trained. Your representatives must be able to understand the company’s products and associated documentation. They should have a good understanding of financial regulations as well as institutional policies and procedures. By regularly attending seminars and taking part in other education, they will be able to keep their skills and knowledge current.

4. Go Digital

The digital transformation of financial services has made it possible for organizations to interact with customers in real time, respond to their questions and solve problems much faster. This also means that they need to have more skills than ever before to solve their customer’s problems. Today, organizations are increasingly investing in artificial intelligence and chatbots to improve the customer experience. They are also working with hybrid tools that turn web content into a conversation on customer service channels, helping customers in need of advice find the resources they need quickly.

5. Offer Self-service

One way to improve the customer experience is by providing a self-service function. These technologies can reduce your help desk staff and increase efficiency, while also providing customers with the help they need faster. However, statistics show that less than 50% of all the customers who are offered the opportunity to solve their problems on their own actually do that. It’s important therefore that self-service options are easy to use, up to date, and provide the information that customers need. An effective self-service solution can save a company huge amounts of money and provide added convenience to customers.

6. Use Social Media

Social media is an important tool for professionals in the finance industry. Everyone wants to do business with people they trust when it comes to money. Social media is a great way to build trust with clients, especially when you are unable to meet them in person. It can help you maintain the customer relationships that you would build at a branch or office. Social media management will allow you to quickly identify customer issues and resolve them quickly. You can also use social media to your advantage by creating a customer group on Facebook or Twitter. Keep in mind customers want consistent customer service, regardless of the communication method they choose.

7. Protect Customer Data

Use strong but user-friendly identity validation methods such as voice biometrics. This method uses the caller’s unique voiceprint and promises high levels of security. It makes identification easier for customers and speeds up the verification process. Your customers and agents should also be educated about the importance of strong passwords as well as the dangers of an easily cracked password. Limit access to your customers’ data so that there are fewer points of vulnerability for your organization.

Summary

The financial services industry has already made a big push to improve the customer experience through digital channels. The rise of FinTech services in the mass market has also compelled traditional financial service providers to finally take notice and begin to act. However, as we all know, it’s not just about putting a great digital channel in front of customers, they must be able to navigate through it. Management teams can also play a pivotal role in bringing about a new culture and mindset that places the customer experience at the heart of day to day business operations.

Tom Meder, Managing Director at ViewTrade Securities explains why artificial intelligence will never be able to replace humans in driving results in the financial services industry.

It is the twenty first century, though no matter how much technology you put into the hands of your business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) clients, we cannot ignore the tremendous value of the human element in driving results.

Coming out of the pandemic, financial services remains a people business. In fact, across our industry the demand for human interaction has only increased over the past year.

Of course, over time we’ve seen human interaction for many day-to-day transactions become unnecessary. Trading, cashiering and more have all become automated. However, there is no substitute for having a live, knowledgeable person to contact when you need to fill the gaps in a process or when things inevitably do not go quite as you expected. While artificial intelligence is a powerful tool, a machine will never be capable of replacing a human in this regard.

True Measure of Quality

The true value of service is how well a service provider reacts to an issue when it arises. And the way a support platform or help desk responds when an anomaly occurs is the true measure for the quality of an institution, especially when you take into consideration the intricacies of working with clients in different countries.

Machines cannot make subjective business decisions based on history or based on the future potential of a client to build relationships. People need direct interaction to properly resolve the extraordinarily complex situations this industry can (and does) encounter.

As a Global Customer Service Representative, here are four elements you should consider in order to provide the best service:

1. Communication is critical. It must be timely, come from a knowledgeable source, and be honest. The ability to receive rapid, efficient, and competent responses to transactions, inquiries and problems is invaluable to any client. Additionally, whether you are in one office or have offices globally, taking into consideration your client’s location and time-zone is important to ensure you have representatives available during their business hours.

2. Great service will always win. Even if the commitment to great service comes at a premium to your clients, it will pay for itself in the long run. The question service providers need to ask themselves is “Do you work for yourself and your own career, or do you work for your clients?” If you work for and serve your clients, the rest will take care of itself, and you will see more client retention.

3. People make the difference. Problems these days can be heavily complex and impossible to get sorted out over email or in a chat room. Regardless of how much technology is introduced into our industry, people are required for problem resolution, fostering relationships, maintaining compliance, delivering business continuity and cultivating innovation. While English is the universal language, there will obviously be language barriers and it is imperative, as a global firm, to have service providers who are fluent in the languages of the countries you operate in to avoid confusion and accurately service their needs.

4. Human intelligence is invaluable. The experience and expertise of the service provider, especially when it comes to compliance and regulations, can help a client avoid the mistakes he or she has seen others make (which could be costly or even fatal to an entrepreneur’s lifework). This is all part of the service deliverable which benefits any client on any platform.

Ours is a relationship business and nothing replaces a knowledgeable person who is willing to help when something unprecedented occurs, a new business direction warrants discussion, or a new-found product line is launched.

About the Author

Tom Meder is Managing Director at ViewTrade Securities.

Some brands go beyond loyalty and seem to spark a genuine love affair with their customers.

Just think how fiercely Apple users feel about the company’s products, for example. But who can honestly say they love their bank, mortgage broker or credit card provider?

There’s no reason why financial services firms shouldn’t be as beloved as technology providers, High Street coffee chains or soft drink brands. Think about it. Apart from our loved ones and our health (of course), money is about the most important thing we have. Banks, lenders and money transfers firms like MoneyNetint aren’t just financial firms: we’re in the dream business.

Our sector helps people buy houses, save for a comfortable retirement, set up and grow businesses, and send much-needed funds overseas. If that’s not deserving of a little love, it’s hard to know what is.

But when financial services firms provoke strong emotions, they are invariably negative. From long wait times to speak to a customer advisor to a lack of tailored services or financial advice, the industry’s approach to its customers is distinctly impersonal. The only way you can guarantee the five-star, red carpet treatment is to have millions in the bank; the rest of us are left with the impression that we’re more of a tiresome burden than a valued customer.

Committing to customers

That was never the way we wanted our customers to feel, no matter their size. At MoneyNetint, we are constantly reviewing how we serve our customers and investing in improving their experience. Plenty of other financial businesses make the same claim, but how many of them can prove it? At MoneyNetint, we’re proud of our (almost) perfect score on Trustpilot, with our customers particularly praising our approach to customer service.

High customer satisfaction doesn’t happen by accident. It requires hard work to attain and, just as importantly, to maintain. We have no intention of resting on our laurels and, while we love to hear people praising us, it’s far more important that we listen and respond to our customers when we haven’t met their (and our own) highest expectations. Still, what’s most satisfying about our Trustpilot score is that this is a reflection of what we set out to achieve: to become a brand that doesn’t just get the job done, but that makes our customers feel truly valued.

And that’s something you can’t fake. Exceeding expectations requires a commitment to customers that’s built right into the DNA of the business – it’s not a business function that you can simply bolt on like a piece of software.

So how do we do it? And what can other financial services businesses learn from our approach?

Spilling our secrets

We’d love to say that there’s a special magic to providing a great customer experience, something we can hint at and then not reveal as our ‘trade secret’. In reality, there is no secret: just the ethos delivering a truly personalised approach, which forms the foundation of our business, its values, and our approach to customer service.

But perhaps MoneyNetint is a little unusual, because so much of what we’re doing is pioneering. We founded our business to break the glass ceiling of international payments, which traditionally has made it incredibly difficult for global businesses to trade affordably and simply anywhere in the world. To do this, we have to open up new channels between banks, regulators and other financial service providers and that requires an intimate understanding of our customers’ needs, such as what markets they want to reach and what services they need.

Getting things right the first time is important for serving our current customers, of course, but it also pays dividends for all the businesses that follow in their wake, piggybacking on the new payment channels and infrastructure that we set up.

It’s this imperative that underpins our ethos, which is to make every customer feel like they’re our only customer. Everything else flows from there. It’s why we never hide behind call centres or “customer service agents”. If you partner with us, you’ll have a direct line to our senior team, and you can call us any time to discuss your changing needs. And you’ll have access to a whole team of experienced business experts, from a compliance department that’s well-versed in the complexities of international payments and complex business structures, to payments experts who know how to evaluate, navigate and mitigate the pitfalls of opening up financial presence in a new market.

Perhaps more than any industry, financial services is about relationships. Perhaps it’s more important for us given the specific nature of our business, but there’s no reason why banks, lenders, payment firms or any other financial firm can’t take the same approach. Because when you make a great customer experience the platform for everything you do, that’s the best way to develop loyalty, and even love, for your brand.

About the Author

Yishay Trif is Chief Executive Officer at MoneyNetInt. MoneyNetInt provides better payment solutions for companies by utilising various supported payment schemes in multiple jurisdictions. The platform is best described as PayPal for business; a one-stop-shop for liquidity. Yishay shares his thoughts on fintech, and London’s place in the sector.