With such strong competition present in today’s retail banking environment, banks and credit unions are evaluating the many ways—some obvious, others less so—to delight their customers and members. These financial institutions are focusing their efforts on customer satisfaction, leaving no stone unturned in their quest to provide an outstanding customer experience.
Institutions are well aware that satisfaction can be impacted in many ways, and at the many touch points that customers encounter when banking. They are therefore continuing to move toward integrated, omnichannel banking systems.
Banking channels are often the first line of interaction between a financial institution and its customers and prospects, so systems uptime and availability is a key component of the overall customer experience. Banking channels systems are virtually unnoticed when working well but become the target of customers’ ire when unavailable.
Since customer interaction is largely rooted in, and expressed, through technology today, the underlying systems must offer almost 100% availability, no matter the channel. There are many variations of equipment, devices, and systems that require monitoring, whether they reside at the teller lines, at ATMs and their networks, on online or mobile banking systems, or at call or contact centers.
These systems must be dependable and able to alert management of pending service needed, or of potential problems before failures occur. To reduce the likelihood of downtime, they should also include alerts, self-diagnostics, self-updating, enhanced security features, and scheduling notifications.
Visibility into device and equipment condition, uptime, and network performance is important to financial institutions. Examples of this include updates on needed preventive and corrective maintenance and the wear-and-tear of mechanical components, including whether the upper and lower control limits of devices are within recommended ranges. Monitoring capabilities can also include information on the status of consumables (such as paper and ink), as well as the amount and variation of notes available on ATMs and branch equipment. All inputs help to manage and prevent customer-impact issues.
Many progressive FIs are realizing that comprehensive systems monitoring capabilities are necessary in today’s 24x7x365 banking world. These solutions help monitor equipment and network health, enabling the successful deployment and maximum uptime of interconnected omnichannel banking systems. The end result can be the deployment of robust, real-time channels systems that deliver unprecedented uptime and equipment availability, resulting in high levels of customer service, customer satisfaction, and ultimately, an outstanding customer experience.