With fully digital banks like Chime making their way into the top 10 list of banks in the U.S. and 80 percent of Americans preferring online banking to visiting a brick-and-mortar branch, online and mobile banking are top-of-mind. People rely more on their phones and laptops for banking, but that doesn’t mean they’re 100 percent happy with their online banking service. Only 66 percent of customers say they are satisfied with their bank or credit union’s digital services. The bottom line: there’s room for everyone to do better.
Whether you’re an online-only bank or a credit union that wants to provide your members with multiple ways to bank, it’s important to make your online experience seamless and customer-focused. Upping your online banking game can easily give you that extra advantage that draws people to you instead of the other guys. So, let’s start with the source of people’s dissatisfaction. Here are four common struggles people have with online banking and how to fix them.
Learning Curve
While it’s clear that most people prefer online banking, there is still a significant percentage of people who don’t have much experience with it. Or, perhaps they’d prefer to bank online because of its convenience, but they’re struggling to make it work for them. Those are the people your platform should serve. Consider that, for some, a good amount of education is required to use online banking. Make sure that tips and clear instructions are included throughout the platform, particularly when someone is registering and signing in for the first time. Aside from outright instructions, use thoughtful design to draw people’s attention to the next step. For those who are less literate or experience language barriers, consider using graphics in addition to words to explain things so that people don’t have to rely solely on text.
Wherever you can, remove friction, points of confusion, or technological issues. And always make a real human available to answer questions over the phone or walk people through issues they are experiencing.
Security
For those who aren’t already using online banking, fears over security might be their main inhibitor. And that’s fair – theft and security breaches can and have happened in the past. But as you likely know as a financial institution, most banks and credit unions go above and beyond in this area, putting tons of money and resources into technology to secure customers’ financial information. With technologies like firewalls, SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificates and encryption, multi-factor authentication, and many more, most reputable financial institutions are considered quite secure when it comes to online banking.
But while you know the safety measures you have in place, potential customers may not know about or understand them. Gaining and keeping the confidence of those skeptics is important. To do that, be open and transparent about your security measures. List them upfront to make sure customers are aware of them. When moving customers or members through an online banking registration or login, use those steps to educate them on security. What may seem like a laborious multi-factor authentication can actually be a teachable moment that instills confidence.
Limited Services
At their beginnings, online and mobile banking platforms lacked many of the services you could find at a physical branch. Today, that’s becoming less and less the case. Aside from cold, hard cash withdrawal, online banking can do just about anything. The best thing for your financial institution to do is to make sure your digital services are up-to-speed with the latest capabilities. For example, you’ll need the technology to handle mobile deposits, internal and external transfers of funds, and ways for people to open accounts without setting foot in a branch. If you’re not offering a full suite of financial services digitally, your customers can easily find a bank or credit union that is.
Lack of Personal Touch and Customer Service
For some, the humanless nature of online banking is a struggle in and of itself. Some crave the personal experience of visiting their local branch and doing business with another human who knows their name. Even as a global pandemic looms each time you exit your home, doing everything online can be hard to stomach for some. While it’s hard to argue with that, you can do your best to make online banking an enjoyable experience, sprinkled with the financial expertise that many seek.
Build personal touches into your platform, like the use of their name and conversational copy that sounds less robotic. Consider the use of chatbots or live customer service agents available through a chat function who can help within your online platform. Design your desktop and mobile platforms with colors and graphics that are friendly, not sterile doom-and-gloom. Finally, find ways to offer expertise and promote understanding. For example, you could incorporate links to guides that help inform members of their financial options or explain complex concepts in banking. Go the extra mile to show that you’re thinking about their experience as a customer or member.
If you’re ready to upgrade your online banking experience, contact us here at PRIME. With experience partnering with financial institutions to create digital solutions, we’re here to help you move forward.
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