Banks' best post-pandemic strategies will almost certainly follow the pathways they set during the pandemic, as many consumers will do the same.
Fremont, CA: The pandemic has been the most severe financial industry crisis since the 2008 recession, with social distancing restrictions, stay-at-home instructions, and economic impact constituting a triple danger that has devastated the sector. To lessen the danger of infection, thousands of bank offices in the United States have closed temporarily or permanently. In contrast, others have shortened their hours or shifted to appointment-only models.
However, more bank clients have sought government-backed loans or opened new accounts to receive stimulus funds than ever before. Financial institutions have responded by pulling out all the stops with their digital banking systems to narrow the demand gap, testing the digital networks they have spent the last decade constructing and strengthening. Larger banks with more advanced in-house digital operations have fared better than their smaller counterparts, but keeping up with consumers' needs for digital services has proven difficult for all FIs.
Vaccine production & distribution are now in full gear, and the end of the pandemic may be near, but if it does, banks will have to reflect on the lessons learned throughout the crisis to choose which changes will get reversed and which will remain. The following Deep Dive investigates how banking has altered due to the epidemic and evaluates which consumer habits and bank strategies will become the new normal in the future.
Banks' best post-pandemic strategies will almost certainly follow the pathways they set during the pandemic, as many consumers will do the same.
Customers may be connected to digital banking but are not necessarily devoted to a specific bank or app, which means that customer experience will be critical for banks to capitalize on consumers' shifting habits. Many banks have already enhanced their client experiences in response to the increased digital banking demand during the pandemic, and customers have responded positively. Financial institutions must continue to be tuned in to client wants and expand their digital products to capitalize on the goodwill acquired during the pandemic.
