It’s no secret your digital front door is an extremely important part of how your accountholders interact with your financial institution.
It’s likely what attracted them to you in the first place (or not).
Users want a seamless experience whether they’re opening a new account, applying for a loan, or checking a balance. They want speed, simplicity, and multiple paths to successful completion with the same look and feel regardless of their chosen device at any given time. What they don’t want is friction and complication – or they’ll go where they can get it.
Did you know half of all deposit apps and 75% of all loan apps are abandoned?[1]
Let’s not forget about your employees and their experience. Speaking of friction, almost half of your workers must copy and paste or rekey data. In fact, over 80% have to use manual processes. This kind of inefficiency puts a dent in your margins, opens the door to costly errors, and keeps you from recruiting and retaining talent.
Take a hard look at the user experiences you offer both your accountholders and your employees. What do current and potentially new ones expect?
Check out a video clip of Jack Henry's director of product, Mark Messick, speaking about how the changing needs of borrowers and lenders are forcing banks and credit unions to think differently about their account opening strategy.
Now, take a moment to consider the services you offer at your digital front door. If you were to survey your current accountholders, what type of feedback would you receive? Chances are, there’s room for improvement ... and the best place to start is by understanding channel access in terms of your actual user(s) experience.
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Applicants: Are they existing or new? Are they targeted or searching online? Are they using online banking or the internet? Are they on a phone or desktop?
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Employees: Are they in the branch or call center? Are they front-line lenders or back-office staff?
Perhaps it would be helpful to walk through an example.
Think about the workflow lifecycles of loan and deposit origination. Origination starts with an application or request regardless of which channel it comes through. The subsequent steps or processes that follow (data collection, verification, pulling credit, return offers, etc.) are simply streetlights that flow from beginning to end. As long as those lights stay green on both the front and back end of the process, the applicant keeps moving.
Consider these buyer personas and interactions as guiding factors in your technology selection process. Each financial industry buyer persona plays a distinct role in the workflow, so aligning their expected user experience with the overall look, feel, and functionality you provide is crucial.
All these factors have led to a “new normal” amongst users … that new normal being:
- Frictionless accountholder experiences
- Supporting retail and business services
- Leveraging technology to engage users
- Expediting data collection in advance
- Simple, intuitive user experiences
- Tailored, go-to-market business models
Imagine not having to manage multiple, complex systems that offer too much – or too little – of what you and your accountholders need. What if you could tailor your offerings based on your business strategy, add or change services as new opportunities emerge, and deliver a modern experience for both your applicants and staff?
If you think in terms of channels, buyer personas, and using the data you already have, you can accurately consider each user’s experience based on how they will interact with the technology.
To compete based on value, foster brand loyalty similar to industry giants like Amazon and Apple, and steer clear of price wars, it's essential to adopt a fresh perspective on what you provide and, more precisely, how you deliver it.
[1] John Meyer, Don’t Abandon Me: Reducing Friction in Online Account Opening with Digital Identity Verification, Cornerstone Advisors, 2021
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