Open banking is one of the recent innovations in financial technology that banks are adopting today. Open banking involves usage of APIs to allow customers to carry out transactions from one bank to another in a transparent manner. BaaS (Banking as service) encourages banks to be transparent about their service offerings. This even allows customers to switch between accounts and avail more personalized services which increase their satisfaction and loyalty toward the banks.
The year 2018 has seen trends where bankers employ digital money managers to simplify money management, provide spending insights, budgeting recommendations, and overall guidance to manage their wealth. Such personalized digital finance management can strengthen the customer-bank relationship and unveil newer sales opportunities.
One of the several benefits of utilizing cloud in the banking sector is exponential cost reduction. Cloud will become increasingly secure by committing to security monitoring by the end of 2018. Big data has enabled banks to embrace IoT which escalates cross-selling possibilities for financial services like insurance covers. Leveraging big data allows banks to offer more personalized and proactive experience. By integrating IoT with big data, transactions can be made easier in an interconnected world.
A survey conducted by Bain & Co., covering about 137,000 consumers from 21 countries has confirmed that the rate of growth in mobile banking transactions is now leveling off with China actually seeing a downfall in the number of interactions per customer. Banks need to recognize this reality to drive the next phase of growth. Customers are now looking beyond basic features to assess whether their mobile banking apps can truly replace a trip to the bank entirely.
Customers now want seamless transactions, spurred by institution-agnostic offerings like digital wallets that give them a comprehensive view of their transactions. One of the essential features that customers look for in mobile banking, is the ability to make payments across channels with ease.
Continuous focus on simplicity and ease in user experience is a critical aspect to be considered in banking applications, even after the addition of new features. Every mobile banking app needs to be updated according to current advancements in the technology to achieve high customer satisfaction. It’s high time banks begin to focus on catering to the ever-evolving consumer needs to stay ahead of their market competition.
