# Key considerations for building an inclusive Digital Banking Experience fit for the Future
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2021-08-25
Category: BANKING
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/banking
Meta Title: Financial Services Digital Transformation: Meeting
Meta Description: Learn how financial service providers are adapting to digital challenges and evolving to better cater to the diverse needs of vulnerable customers.
URL: https://financedigest.com/key-considerations-for-building-an-inclusive-digital-banking-experience-fit-for-the-futurehtml

![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/storyblocks-businessman-with-mobile-gadget-texting-in-urban-environmenthtlseaqzm-sbi-325331520-2-1736837969899-compressed.jpg)

_By_ **_Rob McElroy,_** _CEO Sopra Steria Financial Services_

Digital is a considerable driver for change in Financial Services. One of the biggest challenges facing the sector is building a digital experience that is accessible, inclusive and responds to the needs and personal circumstances of individual customers.

Prior to the pandemic, many financial service providers struggled to drive [digital uptake across all their customer](https://www.financedigest.com/how-will-the-introduction-of-digital-banking-impact-customer-perception-and-overall-loyalty.html "HOW WILL THE INTRODUCTION OF DIGITAL BANKING IMPACT CUSTOMER PERCEPTION AND OVERALL LOYALTY?") segments. However, since Covid-19 forced out face-to-face interactions, customers have had no choice but to grapple with the [digital solutions](https://www.financedigest.com/42-of-retailers-say-payment-over-time-solutions-are-very-important-to-ensuring-future-digital-innovation.html "42% of retailers say payment-over-time solutions are ‘very important’ to ensuring future digital innovation") replacing them. Understandably, most [financial service providers adopted a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to the digital](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") customer journey because of the urgency to provide services to their customers. For many of these customers, these digital solutions will not be fit for purpose in the long term. As the [world begins to return to normality the rate of digital](https://www.financedigest.com/fraud-in-a-mobile-digital-world.html "FRAUD IN A MOBILE DIGITAL WORLD") adoption is expected to fluctuate based on individual customer needs at different times/moments in their lives.

[Financial service](https://www.financedigest.com/how-financial-services-leaders-can-prioritise-cybersecurity-investment.html "How financial services leaders can prioritise cybersecurity investment") providers continue to develop a service that is ‘digitally excellent’, but are currently unable to better identify and adapt at pace to the individual needs and circumstances of their customers. The sector must continue to incorporate a hybrid approach to their service enabling customers to [speak to a human at any time of their choosing throughout the digital](https://www.financedigest.com/can-i-please-speak-to-someone-why-building-relationships-is-still-crucial-in-digital-payments.html "“Can I please speak to someone?” Why building relationships is still crucial in digital payments") journey. For many customers, a [digital journey](https://www.financedigest.com/the-journey-towards-a-digital-bank-five-major-stages-to-successful-banking-digitalisation.html "THE JOURNEY TOWARDS A DIGITAL BANK – FIVE MAJOR STAGES TO SUCCESSFUL BANKING DIGITALISATION") may never be appropriate. So what do we mean by this?

The FCA Guidance [report on Treating Customers Fairly published in February this year estimates a staggering 27.7m adults in the UK were displaying characteristics of financial vulnerability](https://www.financedigest.com/its-back-to-school-for-investors-as-uk-student-accommodation-less-vulnerable-to-brexit-shock-reports-jll.html "It’s back to school for investors as UK student accommodation “less vulnerable to Brexit shock” reports JLL") during the pandemic. The finalised guidance from the FCA on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers requires that all providers must consider whether a customer is in, or about to be a vulnerable situation and respond appropriately, ensuring that each customer has the opportunity of a good and fair outcome.

**Identifying customers in vulnerable situations**

The hardest part is in identifying the characteristics, or reasons why, a customer may be in, or about to be in a vulnerable situation. A specific situation may make one customer vulnerable, but not necessarily another. For example, two separate customers with the same level of affordability applying for a mortgage may require different repayment terms based on the regularity of their income. One customer is paid regularly on the first of every month, whereas the other is paid every six weeks. The second customer may find themselves in a vulnerable [situation due to the misalignment in the timing](https://www.financedigest.com/the-pensions-deficit-abyss-the-time-to-review-your-situation-is-now.html "The pensions deficit abyss – the time to review your situation is now") between their income versus their outgoings. This may present a risk of harm to the second customer, and as a result the mortgage provider must either adapt their service to offer solutions such as offering flexible repayment dates, or build in a service which offers a ‘floating [cash buffer’ to protect](https://www.financedigest.com/supporting-a-fair-and-resilient-society-by-protecting-access-to-cash.html "Supporting a fair and resilient society by protecting access to cash ") against late payments.

It is important to not only understand the specifics of a situation but also the context surrounding the situation for each individual customer.

An experienced colleague in a call centre will be able to identify when a customer is in a vulnerable situation and engage appropriately around the sensitive topic. The colleague has the ability to make certain judgements around the needs of the customer and adapt the service accordingly. This becomes a lot more difficult in a digital environment.

The FCA has defined four key areas of vulnerability, across which careful [consideration must](https://www.financedigest.com/managing-mobility-in-the-enterprise-must-have-consideration.html "Managing mobility in the enterprise must have consideration") be applied for each individual customer. These include a customer’s resilience, their capability, their financial and health-wellbeing, and whether there are any life events that must be taken into account.

There are two ways organisations can [work to build](https://www.financedigest.com/7-tips-for-building-a-positive-remote-work-culture.html "7 tips for building a positive remote work culture") up an overview of a customer’s vulnerability characteristics in a digital environment. Firstly by asking them directly through the digital journey to self-identify whether they have personal circumstances which may indicate they have the characteristics of being in a vulnerable situation. Some characteristics can be more obvious than others, for example a recent [death in the family or job loss](https://www.financedigest.com/loss-of-queen-brings-first-encounter-with-death-for-some-children.html "Loss of queen brings first encounter with death for some children") will represent a life event which put the customer in a vulnerable situation. Other characteristics might need additional consideration, for example where a customer has admitted to not fully understanding the [key features](https://www.financedigest.com/exploring-the-key-features-of-bnpl-solutions.html "Exploring the key features of BNPL solutions") of a product or are first time borrowers. This may suggest that they have a lower resilience or capability and should be presented with additional support and education to mitigate against a potential vulnerability.

The second area is data. Data is another way to identify when a [customer has characteristics of vulnerability and can also be used to predict future](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") potential risk of harm. As an example, transactional [data from open banking](https://www.financedigest.com/open-data-represents-the-biggest-challenge-to-banks-in-a-generation.html "Open data represents the biggest challenge to banks in a generation") can provide insight into a customer’s spending patterns and warn them against late payments, or expensive overdrafts. At an aggregated view, [data could identify a provider’s customer base with low-income households and therefore potentially at risk of suffering](https://www.financedigest.com/hedge-funds-suffer-big-outflows-in-q2-data.html "Hedge funds suffer big outflows in Q2 – data") from poverty premiums.

Once providers have a deeper understanding of the individual characteristics surrounding their customer’s personal situation they can adapt their products and services to provide a suitable, fair and good outcome for each customer.

**Where should [financial service providers start to ensure an inclusive](https://www.financedigest.com/why-banks-could-stand-to-learn-a-thing-or-two-about-financial-inclusion-from-fintechs.html "Why banks could stand to learn a thing or two about financial inclusion from fintechs") experience?**

How can banks and building societies create this inclusive [digital](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-enhance-banking-services-with-digital-performance-intelligence.html "HOW TO ENHANCE BANKING SERVICES WITH DIGITAL PERFORMANCE INTELLIGENCE") banking experience ready for the future? Here are five key considerations:

**1.Understanding customer diversity** – providers [need to take the time to really get to know](https://www.financedigest.com/5-key-things-you-need-to-know-before-hiring-your-first-employee.html "5 Key Things You Need to Know Before Hiring Your First Employee") their customers and identify how they interact with their services. It is no longer good enough to apply blanket personas across a specific age group or demographic. Each customer’s needs and personal preferences must be considered in isolation and in turn presented with a service that meets their specific circumstances.

**2.Provide any-help, any-way, any-time** – Providers must be able to support and present the same information via in person, mobile, and online channels allowing customers to pick a support mechanism, format and time that suits them best. Banks should take a proactive, [preventative approach and adopt the attitude that if the customer](https://www.financedigest.com/how-strong-customer-authentication-can-prevent-cart-abandonment.html "How Strong Customer Authentication can Prevent Cart Abandonment") asks for information, it is probably too late.

**3.Inclusive design** – [Banks need to make sure products and services are open to all customers](https://www.financedigest.com/how-will-open-banking-impact-the-customer-experience.html "How will Open Banking impact the customer experience?"), regardless of age, disability, background, or intellect. This will ensure everyone can receive the same positive outcomes across any channel they choose to interact with.

**4.Accessibility** [– Digital](https://www.financedigest.com/lloyds-goes-digital-but-what-does-that-mean-for-loyalty.html "LLOYDS GOES DIGITAL – BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR LOYALTY?") has provided increased access to products, services and support to many customers, but at the same time introduced new ways to exclude others. What was a positive move to a cashless society has given rise to a large [community of vulnerable customers](https://www.financedigest.com/talk-to-me-the-changing-face-of-customer-communications.html "TALK TO ME :THE CHANGING FACE OF CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS") who now find themselves financially excluded. Algorithms in digital journeys and online decisioning tools can lead to providers inadvertently excluding others from certain products or presenting higher lending terms. Financial service providers need to review their ethical principles and identify where potential biases may exist. The more [banks understand about their individual customers](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"), the more they can measure the impact of their accessibility polices, and will be able to uncover whether a product or service is truly accessible via digital, phone or in person channels.

**5\. Building community and leveraging the SME/FinTech market** – Banks and Building Societies  who are open to collaboration and building their eco-system of [partners are able to present digital](https://www.financedigest.com/veraviews-welcomes-hoopla-digital-as-a-demand-partner.html "VeraViews Welcomes Hoopla Digital as a Demand Partner") tools or micro-services to certain customer groups and offer a more rounded, specific service offering to meet their needs and engage at the appropriate level. This can avoid a one-size-fits-all approach and means that the service and product offering can evolve over time in parallel to the customer’s individual needs.

**Final thoughts**

For much of the population, the [pandemic has caused significant concern around personal health](https://www.financedigest.com/explainer-how-the-world-health-organization-might-fight-future-pandemics.html "Explainer-How the World Health Organization might fight future pandemics"), emotional and financial well-being. Moving forward an incremental approach to improving accessibility to products and services combined with a supportive [partner ecosystem](https://www.financedigest.com/volkswagen-to-partner-on-indonesia-ev-battery-ecosystem-minister.html "Volkswagen to partner on Indonesia EV battery ecosystem -minister") should be adopted. This will enable customer experience to become better over time and consider the different [digital adoption needs](https://www.financedigest.com/britains-digital-banks-need-support-amid-banking-turmoil-trade-body.html "Britain’s digital banks need support amid banking turmoil – trade body") of individual customers.

Ultimately, those banks and building societies who take the time [today](https://www.financedigest.com/stress-testing-why-did-my-bank-go-bust-today.html "STRESS-TESTING – WHY DID MY BANK GO BUST TODAY? ") to examine their customer base and think about how they can deliver true personalised customer journeys aligned to their digital banking ambitions will find they are well placed for the future.


---
This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more.
---