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ARTICLE

Challenges: beneficial for the bank in the long run and eventually the
digital strategies it has embraced, starts reducing the costs.
No attempt at developing customer experience in banking
will become beneficial to the customers unless best practices Achieving extraordinary results with minimal resources is the
of transparency, security, and ethics are exercised. If aim of all businesses. According to the Business Insider
customers have to struggle to keep trust in their banks, Intelligence report, conversational assistance is set to cut
banks' operational costs over $8 billion by 2022 worldwide.
solely advancement in digitization will not be sufficient for
achieving better customer experience. Huge data is Banks are deploying more and more resources to improve
accessed and analysed every day. Access to data may easily their digital presence than they used to invest in developing
lead to a breach of privacy. Customers might rightfully want product features.
to know where and how their data will be used.
June 2019 Bloomberg report shows that a study done on
Customers look for convenience and value and they are banks across 21 countries revealed that these banks spent
ready to exchange their personal data for good deals and $1 trillion on IT for the past 3 years. PwC's report called
discounts but with permission. 2017 Accenture report shows Industry 4.0: Building the Digital Enterprise Report' says that
that 67% of consumers would grant banks access to their by 2021, nearly 39% of companies in India have plans to
personal data if they receive more personalized advice. invest 8% of their annual revenues on digitization. According
Robust security features, on the other hand, help improving to Business Insider Intelligence reports, by 2020, the bank's
brand loyalty. Therefore suitable policy has to be in place IT budget are to rise by $297 billion globally, an increase of
for ensuring data and cyber security and for addressing 14% from $261 billion in 2018.
conflicts. If these aspects are not taken care of, the customer
experience is bound to be hit. According to Gartner, more than 66% of companies now
compete primarily on the basis of customer experience
Discussions and Suggestions for compared to 36% a decade ago. Maximising customer
excellent Customer Experience in experience, as well as banks' revenues, is not contradictory
to each other anymore. Increasing reliance on technology
Banking: from transactions to financial advice is creating great
There is only one and most important key to providing opportunities for banks to enhance the customer
customers with great experience in banking that is, stepping experience. Technology is dramatically improving access to
into the shoes of the customers. Banks have to visualize the financial services irrespective of income or location.
customer's world. Then only the real pain points will be
identified. E.g. a student facing difficulty while paying fees Conclusion:
to his/ her college or inquiring for an education loan should It is evident that the scope of improving customer experience
be provided with suitable guidance through modes like live in banking is endless. The current strategic technology trends
video chat, chatboats, etc. A pensioner applying for pension in banks should aim to make improvements in human lives
loan may be supported by co-browsing by a bank teller on and not only should it point towards the best cost-benefit
the other side so that the pensioner does not have to lose analysis for the banks themselves. Banking on digital platforms
his way into the navigation paths and further he maybe is already the centre of lifestyle and customer experience is
assisted by filling up required forms jointly. the talk of the banking industry.
When the customer starts to feel that customer-centricity The right combination of technology, strategy, products,
is the way of activity of the organization he is banking with, services, and outreach is poised to integrate better towards
he starts to keep faith with his financial institution and fulfilling the financial objectives of the customer, leading to
considers his bank to be the support system in his need. enhanced experience and real value to the customer and
When banks start working towards creating real value to will also boost productivity and revenues for banks.
its customers, customer experience is maximized resulting Reshaping the overall banking system with a human touch
in a win-win situation; the wining situation for a customer and a holistic view is the most important differentiator for
as his unmet requirements are met and a winning situation customer experience. An open ecosystem with the inclusion
for the bank as its customer has been retained. of customers is what customers want to experience in the
banking sector at the present moment.
Also, spending on the digital platform with the aim of
augmenting customer experience starts proving to be Sources: Various sources. T

28 | 2021 | JANUARY | BANKING FINANCE