The Credit Professional Winter 2018 Dec_2018_magazine | Page 26

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When it comes to those goals,
I believe people are hungry for
more help reaching them and
personalized advice at key
moments. If they don’t get
those things in a convenient
and speedy fashion, the new
model of mobile banking means
that customers would have no
trouble switching institutions
or providers.
Unfortunately, the retail
banking experience often
leaves a lot to be desired.
For example, a recent McKinsey
article suggested that physical
branches may be “old,
underoccupied, and poorly
maintained.” Therefore, walking
into a bank branch might feel
cold and impersonal to the
average consumer. For a
millennial, I believe there’s also
What do we mean when we say likely the frustration of having
“help” reaching financial goals? to explain who you are and
Increasingly, that help could
what you need to a human
come from artificial intelligence. bank employee when you
A recent Accenture survey of
know the bank already has all
North American banking
your information.
customers discovered 46
percent are willing to use
To me, this means that the
“robo-advice,” 40 percent would younger generation of banking
consider switching banks to get customers may want the
more personalized service and
customized service they’re used
39 percent said they want their to getting when they’re logged
financial institution to provide in on their devices to carry over
“actionable financial advice on to their in-branch experience.
a proactive, real-time basis.”
I believe the goal should be a
hybrid of the high-tech present
with the small-town past where
Banking customers want
you might walk into a local
personal attention.
bank and be greeted by a teller
who knows your name and
Technology is not a cure-all
business because you’ve got a
for what consumers want,
personal relationship.
however. I believe they still
care about getting personal
attention and support. Often,
that could equate to a desire
for access to physical locations
where they can speak to real
people: According to PwC’s
research, 65 percent say they
want access to a local branch.
Even though many financial
customers might begin their
journey online, either on
desktop computers or a mobile
device, they still prefer to have
the option to come into a
branch and handle certain
aspects of their financial
business face to face.
If we look at what small
business owners want from
their banks, this message
seems loud and clear.
One 2016 survey from the New
York Federal Reserve shows
that business owners reported
the most satisfaction when
dealing with small banks and
credit unions, versus large
banks (80%, 78% and 61%,
respectively). Small business
owners likely appreciate when
they can build relationships
and deal with partners at their
financial institutions who care
about their personal and
local needs.
Financial institutions can
use technology to deliver.
I believe one result of the rise
of big data and artificial
intelligence (AI) is that now,
financial institutions are able to
deliver the individual attention
that customers want, without
all the constraints of local
in-person banking.
Because of improvements in
AI and the speed of data
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The Credit Professional
25
December 2018