Omnichannel banking is becoming increasingly important as consumers move between mobile banking, branches, and contact centers depending on the type of transaction or assistance they need. Bank of America’s experience shows that growing adoption of digital banking does not necessarily mean customers are abandoning traditional banking channels.
Instead, customers may use mobile devices for routine activities such as checking balances and depositing checks while turning to branches or contact centers for advice and more complicated issues. For banks and credit unions, creating seamless transitions between these channels can improve the customer experience while strengthening relationships and loyalty.
One third of Bank of America customers — 17 millionpeople — bank on their mobile devices, and the number is growing at a rate of150,000 per month.
Yet customers have notgiven up more traditional channels. Ten million customers a week call one ofthe bank’s contact centers; seven million walk into one of its branches.
Understanding thatdichotomy is important, and many of the popular explanations for it are wrong,warns Steve Beasty, consumer banking technology executive.
“Weall [assume of] people walking into the branch, ‘That’s my mother,’ while thedigitally active customers are like my 20-year-old daughter,” he said.”But when we dig into this deeper, that’s not what’s going on. The digitalcustomers are doing basic transactions online and on mobile — checkingbalances, depositing checks. But they’re also using our physical branches andour call centers when they have a concern about something in one of theiraccounts or they’ve got a problem — ‘I tried to deposit a check at the ATM andit shredded my check.’ “
Other times thesecustomers are looking for advice, perhaps to help choose a mortgage.
Beasty’s team is workingto smooth the experience as customers cross from the digital to the physicaloutlets of the bank. “They come to the branch or contact center to finishsomething they started in mobile,” Beasty said.
Hisfirst goal is to make the transition effortless. “Digital customers don’twant to have to type in numbers or information,” Beasty said. “Wejust want to click, tap or swipe. So it needs to be pretty automatic.”
The second goal is forcustomers only to have to authenticate themselves once.
Consumers’ choices of banking preferences, including channels, continue to evolve. At the same time, Mercator Advisory Group research indicates that none of the channels goes away – there are merely more choices for banking customers. These choices create new ways of opportunities for banks and credit unions to grow relationships with their banking customers and increase satisfaction and loyalty.
The continued use of multiple banking channels highlights why financial institutions cannot view digital and physical banking as separate customer experiences. Consumers increasingly expect to begin an interaction in one channel and continue it in another without repeatedly entering information or authenticating themselves.
An effective omnichannel banking strategy can help banks and credit unions meet these expectations while giving customers the flexibility to choose the channel that best fits their immediate needs. As mobile banking adoption continues to grow, integrating digital services with branches and contact centers will become increasingly important to delivering a consistent banking experience.
Overview by Ed O’Brien, Director, Banking Channels for Mercator Advisory Group
Read the full story at American Banker
