# Getting customer experience right in financial services Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2022-11-14 Category: BANKING Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/banking Meta Title: The Future of Financial Services: Embracing Digital Meta Description: Discover how traditional banks are adapting to meet customer expectations and integrate technology to provide a seamless and secure banking experience. URL: https://financedigest.com/getting-customer-experience-right-in-financial-serviceshtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/istock-1440697454-1736814866841-compressed.jpg) **_By Jeff Woodland, Director of Verticals at_** [**_Five9_**](https://www.five9.com/) Financial services and digital transformation aren’t two phrases that tend to be associated with each other. Banks have traditionally been slower to adopt new technology due to legacy systems and cultures that have been built over hundreds of years. A huge shift in customer expectation, however, meant that banks had to adapt or risk losing customers to challenger banks such as Monzo. Traditional banks could no longer offer a sub-par service, they had to offer the same seamless [experience that customers](https://www.financedigest.com/insurers-ready-to-fight-back-against-poor-customer-experience.html "Insurers ready to fight back against poor customer experience") receive from other sectors. [Managing finances](https://www.financedigest.com/how-parents-can-help-students-manage-their-finances.html "How Parents Can Help Students Manage their Finances") on a daily basis can be stressful. Money is the foundation of everything we do. It’s often tied to personal reputation, sense of worth and social standing. But it’s also essential to everyday living. Customers want the comfort and [security of being able to reach a human when they need to discuss concerns and ask questions about financial](https://www.financedigest.com/5-steps-to-strengthening-your-online-financial-security.html "5 Steps to Strengthening Your Online Financial Security") matters. At the same time, they also want fast, easy and [accessible services across](https://www.financedigest.com/700000-employees-across-the-uk-have-access-to-fair-finance-will-reach-one-million-employees-in-2017.html "700,000 Employees Across The UK Have Access to Fair Finance, Will Reach One Million Employees in 2017") their channel of choice. Being unable to connect customers with the right channel at the right time can have a huge impact on [customer service](https://www.financedigest.com/revolutionising-customer-service-three-sectors-that-are-leading-the-way.html "Revolutionising Customer Service: Three sectors that are leading the way…"). This can be detrimental when it comes to reputation. **Leaving the legacy behind** [Challenger banks](https://www.financedigest.com/big-banks-can-be-challengers-too.html "Big banks can be challengers too") like Monzo and Revolut set a new standard for legacy banks. They offered a different way of [banking with digital at the heart and this disrupted traditional customer](https://www.financedigest.com/communicating-with-the-customer-is-the-future-of-mobile-banking.html "Communicating with the customer is the future of mobile banking") service. As such, traditional banks had to step up. Through scale and innovation, big [banks have made](https://www.financedigest.com/fintech-v-the-banks-uneasy-bedfellows-or-a-match-made-in-heaven.html "FinTech v the Banks: Uneasy Bedfellows or a Match Made in Heaven?") significant gains in customer satisfaction over the last decade. [Digital transformation is paying off for financial services](https://www.financedigest.com/the-future-for-financial-services-is-digital-engagement.html "The future for financial services is digital engagement") but it has also left siloed data and applications which are in need of integration in order to offer the most seamless experience for customers. Technology is essential when it comes to [customer experience](https://www.financedigest.com/is-your-customer-experience-exceptional.html "IS YOUR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE EXCEPTIONAL?") but unless it is integrated and connects to all core systems, it cannot deliver its intended value, and may be more costly than it is worth. **Intelligent assistance** That consumers have grown increasingly comfortable with interacting with smart devices in a natural and conversational manner shows how this tech can be done right. As a result, there has been a huge shift in consumer behaviour over the last few years, with research suggesting that shopping through voice-activated devices in the UK will be worth £3.2bn by 2022. Customers have come to expect virtual assistants at all points of the purchase journey – and [financial services](https://www.financedigest.com/how-crowdsourcing-can-help-drive-the-benefits-of-advanced-analytics-in-financial-services.html "HOW CROWDSOURCING CAN HELP DRIVE THE BENEFITS OF ADVANCED ANALYTICS IN FINANCIAL SERVICES") is no exception. Whether it is through an AI chatbot, over SMS or via email, being able to get a quick, 24/7 response to questions helps to put a customer’s mind at ease. IVAs (Intelligent Virtual Assistants), are a prime example. They are automated, [self-service applications that offer capabilities similar to human service and support](https://www.financedigest.com/73-of-employees-in-the-banking-and-financial-services-industries-are-looking-for-better-physical-and-mental-wellbeing-support-in-the-workplace.html "73% of employees in the banking and financial services industries are looking for better physical and mental wellbeing support in the workplace") agents but unlike their human counterparts, they just never rest or take holidays. This means that the customer can be looked after and responded to 24/7, offering that seamless experience that they don’t just want but have come to expect. The benefit isn’t just for the customer, however. As adoption of IVAs increases in the [financial sector](https://www.financedigest.com/overcoming-information-overload-in-the-financial-sector.html "OVERCOMING INFORMATION OVERLOAD IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR"), the benefits are ten-fold for businesses too. Being able to offer automated responses to questions, and only having to use agents for bigger queries and complex issues, frees up valuable time for human agents to focus on more urgent customer enquiries. It also reduces average wait times for customers during busy hours, all whilst delivering a more human experience – one that isn’t actually human. **It’s more than the right tech** While consumers value speed, convenience and the ability to get quick turnaround answers digitally, for [financial services](https://www.financedigest.com/as-hackers-declare-cyberwarfare-financial-services-cannot-afford-to-be-complacent.html "As hackers declare cyberwarfare, financial services cannot afford to be complacent") the telephone is still the most used channel when it comes to dealing with personal matters. This is where human contact and technology have to marry up perfectly in order to give the [customer a seamless experience](https://www.financedigest.com/visionary-banks-fight-the-blur-hybrid-computing-architecture-brings-a-faster-sharper-customer-experience.html "Visionary banks fight “the blur”: Hybrid computing architecture brings a faster, sharper customer experience"). Customers want to be able to use [digital services](https://www.financedigest.com/matching-digital-adoption-with-cybersecurity-in-the-financial-services-industry.html "Matching digital adoption with cybersecurity in the financial services industry") for tasks such as getting approval for credit cards or making an online transfer, but when it comes to getting a mortgage or making investments, being able to speak to someone is essential. It sounds simple, but all too often, businesses get it wrong. For example, customers can get so far online and then have to speak to an advisor. If they get through to the advisor they then have to repeat what they have already done online. This can be a huge pain point for customers. This is where technology should be used to enhance human contact. Being able to provide an advisor with an overview of what the [customer has already filled out or signed will help create that all important seamless experience](https://www.financedigest.com/customer-experience-platforms-market-to-reach-us-18972-7-mn.html "Customer Experience Platforms Market to reach ~US$ 18,972.7 Mn"). To get it right, [financial services](https://www.financedigest.com/what-can-we-learn-from-financial-services-security.html "What can we Learn from Financial Services Security?") have to focus on the contact centre. **Making the most of the cloud** The contact centre needs to act as a central “hub” for synthesising and [improving the customer](https://www.financedigest.com/5-ways-a-ccm-platform-can-help-improve-customer-engagement-in-insurance.html "5 Ways a CCM platform can help improve customer engagement in insurance") experience in order to create a connected experience across all channels. Cloud contact centres have advanced, allowing them to use AI to [provide more than a traditional customer services](https://www.financedigest.com/red-box-and-bloomberg-partner-to-provide-comprehensive-record-keeping-and-trade-reconstruction-services-for-financial-compliance.html "Red Box and Bloomberg Partner to Provide Comprehensive Record Keeping and Trade Reconstruction Services for Financial Compliance") experience. Making the contact centre cloud-based means that businesses can rapidly and cost-effectively deliver the [communication experience that customers](https://www.financedigest.com/talk-to-me-the-changing-face-of-customer-communications.html "TALK TO ME :THE CHANGING FACE OF CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS") want, on the channel that they want. Each customer’s journey is different, and a contact [centre should be able to support every customer](https://www.financedigest.com/manchester-arts-centre-the-lowry-selects-logpoints-siem-technology-to-safeguard-customer-data.html "Manchester arts centre The Lowry selects LogPoint’s SIEM technology to safeguard customer data") in the best way for them on an individual basis. A cloud contact centre can [integrate an array of services](https://www.financedigest.com/how-green-are-your-investments-why-esg-data-integration-is-key-for-financial-services-firms.html "“How green are your investments?” – Why ESG data integration is key for financial services firms"), including self-service IVR, intelligent routing capabilities and getting customers to the right person at the right time. This in turn provides the quick, easy, convenient experience that is essential when it comes to keeping today’s customers happy. **Creating a new legacy** Whether they are exploring your products for the first time or a long-term customer, consumers [expect a frictionless transition between digital and voice channels](https://www.financedigest.com/british-pm-sunak-expected-to-shelve-plans-to-privatise-channel-4-ft.html "British PM Sunak expected to shelve plans to privatise Channel 4 -FT"). This means retaining the [context of their financial journey at all points](https://www.financedigest.com/service-the-cfo-why-context-is-worth-80-iq-points.html "Service & The CFO: Why Context Is Worth 80 IQ Points"), so that a customer feels that their time is valued. It also means having the right self-service options in place, so that customers don’t have to [face](https://www.financedigest.com/disconnected-customers-are-one-of-the-biggest-problems-facing-financial-companies.html "Disconnected customers are one of the biggest problems facing financial companies") lengthy hold times and agents are free to help and support customers with more difficult issues. In today’s world, customers’ expectations are higher than ever. In order to reduce strain on agents while also offering the best customer services, the only option is cloud-based contact [centres and getting the mix between IVAs and human contact spot](https://www.financedigest.com/new-york-holds-top-spot-london-second-in-z-yen-financial-centre-survey.html "New York holds top spot, London second in Z/Yen financial centre survey") on. For the [financial sector](https://www.financedigest.com/boom-or-bust-how-the-financial-services-sector-is-coping.html " Boom or Bust: how the financial services sector is coping"), having fantastic customer service is no longer a nice to have – it is essential. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---