How to reframe the banking experience: Defining the new norm for banking contact centers

Many financial institutions have been around for over 100 years and have survived depressions, recessions and two world wars. At some point, we feel they can survive any emergency. However, the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing us to rethink how financial institutions will endure this sudden change and what the new normal will be.

Accelerating the seamless digital journey

The reimagining of business places the customer at its forefront and affects every aspect of the banking industry — from human resources and security to sales and marketing. Institutions that are slow to react get the short end of the stick.

After COVID-19 hit, many business owners felt underserved by their banks and voiced their displeasure by moving their money elsewhere. The Wall Street Journal found that 28% of businesses who secured Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding received their loan from a lender with whom they had no prior relationship with or from a bank that wasn’t their primary one. About 44% of those borrowers said they would move at least some of their accounts to the bank that came through for them during PPP.

Integrating with the next wave of banking technology

Confinement measures, and the subsequent need to rely on digital channels, is accelerating investment in technology and transforming the financial service’s landscape at a faster pace than any chief digital transformation officer ever could.

Cloud-born companies are spearheading this transformation and defining the next wave of banking technology, making use of open banking, built-in artificial intelligence (AI) and omnichannel strategies to reshape the entire banking experience:

• Open banking: The main technology used in open banking is Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) which is the mechanism that gives trusted outside parties access to banking data. Through the use of APIs, an entire ecosystem of pre-vetted banks and third-party providers is integrated, allowing a company to serve its customer base better and faster.
• AI-powered banking: Through sentiment analysis and by making data-driven suggestions for the next-best-action, AI-powered technology is helping agents be more empathetic and the best version of themselves, which helps create a more positive brand image.
• Omnichannel banking: Customer expectations towards digital service are growing fast. Customers seek around-the-clock, personalized and efficient support to solve their issues through the digital channel that is most convenient for them. Today, banks need to provide an omnichannel customer interaction hub, with options that range from mobile communication channels to chatbots, so customers are never left on hold.

The rise of the mobile agent

Companies are facing two simultaneous challenges — supporting employees’ safety and well-being while ensuring business continuity for customers. New-normal banking contact centers should empower agents to engage with customers any time, anywhere, from any device, without ever sacrificing security, privacy or service quality.

Agents need to have the ability to take calls from anywhere — even using their mobile devices — to help contact centers deal with unexpected surges in customer demand. With mobility comes the importance of integrating reporting and analytics solutions suited for remote-work, so managers and supervisors can track performance just as effectively as when agents were working in a brick-and-mortar call center.

Redefining the competitive landscape

Customers called to save their businesses and large banks left them with no answer, while smaller, more digital-savvy banks, wowed with great customer service to sweep clients away from the big players.

Mobile banking and the shift from brick-and-mortar to remote are here to stay. With customers relying more on digital channels, CX leaders in banking need to emphasize digital, mobile-friendly support channels. That means creating a support experience that’s consistent with their customers’ expectations.

Conclusion

Unlike Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), which are fraught with call quality issues, cloud-born contact center platforms are reliable, scalable and designed to provide the same customer experience regardless of the agent location. These platforms are leading financial institutions into the digital sphere. 

Today, the competitive advantage in CX lies with the enablement of business agility through a secure, flexible and customizable cloud contact center platform. Superior service that wows customers happens in the cloud.