Page 27 - BF Cover January 2021.cdr

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states that financial institutions are spending about $1.7 Virtual Reality:
billion annually on blockchain technology.
The use of virtual reality (VR) technology in banking is an
advanced process of giving some tangibility to the intangible
Voice Banking: nature of services provided by banks. Visualising how much
Siri and Alexa are already improving lives and transforming Rs1000 saved today grows after 15 years renders pleasant
the world. Bank of America's virtual Assistance Erica customer experiences. BNP Paribas, Citi, Commonwealth
interacts with voice, text and gesture commands. Erica helps Bank of Australia are few among the names offering VR
with queries related to a transaction on the account, bill assistance in banking.
payments, locking/ unlocking debit/ credit cards, keeps track
of customers' preferences and records the same through Humanised Digitisation:
machine learning. Considering all the above-mentioned modes for improving
customer experience in banking, it is understandable that
During September 2019, Financial Software and Systems even when banking is experienced on a digital platform, the
(FSS) in partnership with Amazon launched a voice banking human touch should not be completely missing. At times,
platform for the United Bank of India. Customers are able chatting with pre-programmed machines become frustrating
to access account balance and transaction data and can in case of problems of a complex type. Human to human
request for issuing cheque book. In a span of only one year, interaction is required to understand the emotion of the
the usage of Alexa increased more than two-fold from 33%
customer to offer him the best possible solution. A PwC 2018
in 2016 to 77% in 2017. report shows that 65% of consumers find it important to
have a local branch while choosing a bank and 25% of
Self Service Video Assistance: consumers wouldn't open an account without a local branch.

Interactive video contents on how to open an account
online, transfer funds, invest and many more 'how-to' videos So today's banking environment needs to be high-tech as
on the Bank's website and on other public domains is a great well as high-touch. AI personalizes interactions to make
source of customer delight empowering customers for doing customers feel interacting with humans to a great extent.
banking on their own. Few ATMs now have live video support Still at times technology appears to be a depersonalizing
in case customers need additional assistance. force. Therefore integrating technology with human
interaction makes banking experience dynamic and less
Banks are also focusing on digital on boarding of new impersonal.
customers by extending handholding support on how to
open an account with them. A 2017 Accenture report shows Future of Customer Experience in
that nearly 75% of customers are willing to receive Banking:
automated support while deciding on the type of bank
The future of customer experience in banking lies in the
account to open. Institution offering video banking services
have found that 72% of their customers think that their bank continuous improvements in all the above-mentioned tools. It
is an innovative organization and their customer satisfaction is clear that a shift from the product-centred thinking to
rate is higher. customer-centred thinking is necessary for the optimum level
of customer experience. Banks will have to continue
incorporating up to date technology in to its system. And in
Helicopter banking: place of fearing replacement of human jobs by machines, a new
Banks are to be on and accessible to their customers 24*7, set of skills will be required in the banking sector for digitization
says FIS Consumer Banking Report. It is expected to work and launching hybrid of human and machine support.
as a long term personal finance manager and advisor.
Personal Financial Management (PFM) system categorises Unlike SIRI and Alexa, each bank will have its own voice
transactions, applies spending and budgeting tool, offers support which will become the voice of the institution with
dynamic income and spending comparison, calculates changeable accents and pronunciation. Doing banking in the
spending trends and net worth, helps in setting a financial 5G environment, an offer of advice and rewards in other
goal, etc. E.g. SBI has spend-analyser in its YONO app. These areas of life, simpler navigation in apps and WebPages are
personalised experiences simplify human lives. among the primary customer expectations.

BANKING FINANCE | JANUARY | 2021 | 27