Digital innovation is in vogue. Customers’ high digital expectations are driving the financial services industry’s customer-centric strategies while innovation labs and collaboration with FinTech start-ups are flourishing.
Most banks have a digital offering, however, clients are still demanding an enhanced digital user experience (UX). This is even truer in Asia, where banking customers in developed Asian markets are typically least satisfied with the financial products and customer experience. The stakes are high; 80% of respondents would agree to shift some of their holdings to a bank that offered a more compelling digital proposition. In countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam more than 50% of consumers indicated such willingness (McKinsey & Company study).
Banks need to provide a user experience that is simple and engaging. A good UX aims to deliver valuable digital content and functionalities that are effortless for users while also being intuitive and well designed. But in the financial services industry, what are the key components of a seamless UX?
First, accessing banking information should be possible via clear and intuitive mobile applications, which are simple to access and use. If users cannot easily and quickly find the information they are looking for, they may get frustrated. An Episerver survey has showed that 1 in 5 consumers declared being overwhelmed by the amount of information in financial apps and 44% consider ease of use to be a significant factor when deciding whether to download such apps.
Digital banking users want simple authentication processes when accessing their financial data but currently, for security reasons, they are more likely to have to go through numerous steps with passwords and tokens to log-in before being able to access their personal account or perform basic transactions. In such situations, the UX is not seamless and these convoluted processes add to clients’ disengagement. The same Episerver survey highlights that 63% of US banking consumers would abandon a site if it is too difficult to access.
One part of the goal of a seamless UX is to remove unnecessary steps and streamline processes. This can be done by reducing cumbersome and expensive paper-based communications and trying to focus, for example, on digital onboarding with photo ID verification for KYC processes or address book used for P2P payments.
Integrating digital banking experience in clients’ daily life is another pillar of a seamless UX. This is claimed by the customers themselves. Clients want their banks to be a relevant part of their lives and be more than just a “repository” for their money. In this sense, adopting a seamless UX should mean having banking services at our fingertips and whenever we want. A CGI report, showed that half of respondents wished their bank allowed them to pay for goods and services instantly using whatever devices. Interestingly, 84% of financial institutions with an existing mobile presence rated their current mobile experience at 7 out of 10, despite there being a clear need to improve and simplify the user experience when it comes to executing basic day-to-day tasks.
However, these components of an ideal seamless UX face two major challenges in the financial services field: security and compliance. High cyber risk prevents banks to use popular consumer apps such as Dropbox, Gmail or WeChat. At the same time, strict compliance requirements also restrict the use of these communication channels as the conversations are not recorded as required by the financial regulators.
Financial services companies have to find a new way to offer both security, compliance and enhanced UX, otherwise, they risk low adoption rates for digital offerings which have had significant investment pumped into them.
APrivacy combines security and convenience, offering the financial services industry the necessary means to meet client’s UX expectations while at the same time making multiple channels secure and compliant for banking purposes. If you would like to learn more APrivacy, please contact us.
Digital Security Perfected – APrivacy Ltd. is an award-winning company which combines military-grade data security with a seamless user experience on any platform, any device, anywhere. APrivacy Ltd.’s enabling technology now allows the financial services industry to confidently communicate with clients using their favourite channels leading to increased revenues and reduced costs while meeting the strictest regulatory requirements.
