Video banking is emerging as another way for financial institutions to combine the convenience of digital banking with the personal interaction traditionally associated with a branch. By offering customers access to banking professionals through mobile devices and computers, banks can provide assisted service without requiring customers to visit a physical location.
Interest in the technology is particularly strong for more complex financial conversations, including private banking, wealth management, mortgages, and lending. These services often benefit from personal interaction, making video banking a potential bridge between self-service digital channels and traditional face-to-face banking.
A new survey found that nearly 70 percent of banks prioritize video banking availability through mobile and desktop over in-branch or ATM availability.
More than 80 percent of banks polled recognize that online and mobile banking channels improve customer engagement, and 93 percent of banks said they would expect increased customer satisfaction if a high-quality video banking service were put in operation.
Those were the findings of a survey of 136 banking professionals from 52 countries, which was co-sponsored by Efma and video collaboration specialist Vidyo.
The study found that nearly 70 percent of banks prioritize video banking availability through mobile and desktop over in-branch or ATM availability, and more than 60 percent of banks find private banking, wealth management, mortgage and loan services to be best suited for video banking settings.
Video Banking Adds a Personal Element to Digital Channels
An increasing number of financial institutions are interested in using video capabilities to augment their customers’ and members’ experience. Ongoing Mercator Advisory Group research reinforces this point, as well as highlighting increased interest by consumers in video interaction in general. Video interaction is seen by many as way to make the self- and assisted-service banking experience more personal and efficient, and increase opportunities for deeper engagement.
As consumers become more comfortable using digital banking channels, financial institutions have an opportunity to make those experiences more personal. Video banking can give customers convenient access to knowledgeable employees while preserving the human interaction that can be valuable when discussing more complicated financial products and decisions.
The strongest opportunities may come from integrating video with existing mobile and online services rather than treating it as a separate banking channel. By combining digital convenience with assisted service, video banking could help financial institutions improve customer engagement, increase satisfaction, and create deeper relationships across an expanding range of remote banking interactions.
Overview by Ed O’Brien, Director, Banking Channels Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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