# The demand for ‘Agile Banking’ during the global economic slowdown Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2022-09-23 Category: FINANCE Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/finance Meta Title: How Agile Banking Practices Can Retain Customers in Meta Description: Discover how Rupa Ramamurthy of Teleperformance India explains why banks must embrace agile banking to survive and thrive in the evolving financial landscape. URL: https://financedigest.com/the-demand-for-agile-banking-during-the-global-economic-slowdownhtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/img0016-2000-1736815168895-compressed.jpg) _With over two and a half decades of experience in the financial services sector, Rupa Ramamurthy, Senior EVP of Client Services, Back-Office & Digital Solutions (BFSI) at_ [_Teleperformance India_](https://www.teleperformance.com/en-us/locations/india-site/india/) _, shares her thoughts on how banks must embrace agile banking practices to retain customers during the economic downturn._ ![](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/rupa-ramamurthy-picmar-2022-450x926-1736815168916-compressed.jpg) Rupa Ramamurthy, Senior EVP of Client Services, Back-Office & Digital Solutions (BFSI) Banking services have undergone substantial changes within the last 3 years, and the sector shows no signs of stagnating. Post-pandemic, we are now amidst a global economic slowdown as interest rates rise and inflation spirals, balancing us on the edge of recession. One Bloomberg survey estimates [a 45% chance of a recession in the US within the next year](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-15/odds-of-us-recession-within-next-year-near-50-survey-shows#xj4y7vzkg). As [consumers start to feel](https://www.financedigest.com/consumer-durables-sector-still-feeling-the-effects-of-recession.html "Consumer durables sector still feeling the effects of recession") the full impact of these recessionary conditions, the battle to retain and win more customers is more intense than ever before. For businesses operating in the financial services sector, customer experience has become the new marketing battlefront, with 81% of companies competing mostly or completely on the basis on CX, according to a [Gartner survey](https://global.hitachi-solutions.com/blog/banking-customer-experience-trends/#:~:text=The%20customer%20experience%20in%20banking%20is%20important%20for%20two%20key,institutions%20in%202022%20and%20beyond.). The [banking sector](https://www.financedigest.com/big-ecb-hike-adds-fuel-to-the-banking-sector-fire.html "Big ECB hike adds fuel to the banking sector fire") is typified by its large number of major players, thus saturating the market and fuelling competition and rivalry. CX within [banking must adapt to the speed with which the banking landscape is transforming](https://www.financedigest.com/transforming-the-banking-experience-to-be-mobile-first-and-people-centric.html "Transforming the banking experience to be mobile-first and people-centric") in order to gain a competitive advantage. This is especially the case in a time where customers are constantly jumping ships to more agile, [fintech banks](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?") which better speak to their needs in response to the economic crisis. **The** [Power of Outsourcing and Agile Banking](https://www.financedigest.com/danich-local-and-regional-banks-launch-mobile-wallet-powered-by-nets-new-hce-and-tokenisation-platform.html "DANICH LOCAL AND REGIONAL BANKS LAUNCH MOBILE WALLET POWERED BY NET’S NEW HCE AND TOKENISATION PLATFORM") In response to the rapidly changing landscape, banks are focussing on long-term strategies drawn from digital and domain-led transformation, turning their [backs on legacy systems and instead outsourcing to BPMs who will support their long term](https://www.financedigest.com/ubisoft-vows-to-get-back-to-operating-margin-above-20-in-medium-term.html "Ubisoft vows to get back to operating margin above 20% in medium term") strategy in order to retain customers whilst simultaneously cutting costs. India has become a hub to which [banks and financial](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") institutions can outsource tasks such as CX and back-office management. The country boasts a great many BPMs who specialise in these areas and have AI-powered technology which can [streamline these processes](https://www.financedigest.com/reckon-introduces-link-to-bank-data-to-help-small-businesses-streamline-the-reconciliation-process.html "Reckon introduces link to bank data to help small businesses streamline the reconciliation process "). These companies, who believe each interaction matters and strive hard to deliver simpler, faster, safer and more cost-effective services, will flourish as the demand for ‘agile [banking’ approaches rises](https://www.financedigest.com/the-rise-of-biometric-technology-in-banking.html "The rise of biometric technology in banking"). Already in 2020, studies have shown that [$165 million was saved globally through chatbot automation](https://tearsheet.co/4-charts/am-i-talking-to-a-bot-conversational-commerce-tools-in-4-charts/), giving banks more time to deal with the complex issues as they save time, money and resources. The difference between then and now is the shift towards the one office concept, where front and back-office tasks are synergised through scientific customer journey mapping. BPMs that are offering these complete one-office solutions to brands seeking to integrate their front, middle and back-office management ultimately place themselves at an advantage. Processes which in the past have taken 14 [days can now be done in a fraction of the time](https://www.financedigest.com/love-in-a-time-of-inflation-how-much-will-valentines-day-set-you-back.html "Love in a time of inflation: how much will Valentine’s Day set you back?") with the help of outsourcing and accelerated digital transformation. This is essential in the post-pandemic world where [customers want immediate](https://www.financedigest.com/the-fca-is-taking-immediate-action-on-customer-vulnerability-but-how-does-this-impact-advisers.html "The FCA is taking immediate action on customer vulnerability; but how does this impact advisers?") digital solutions to everything. And, if a bank cannot provide this, the customer will see this as a red flag and swiftly jump ship to an agile [fintech bank](https://www.financedigest.com/britain-seeks-to-boost-banking-services-from-fintechs.html "Britain seeks to boost banking services from fintechs"). Agile banking has ultimately become a question of [survival](https://www.financedigest.com/the-survival-of-the-banking-industry.html "THE SURVIVAL OF THE BANKING INDUSTRY") within banking services rather than a choice, as the space has become increasingly hostile in the face of recession. It is essential that [banks provide the channels and processes 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") want, ensure consistency and quality at each touchpoint, and more effectively manage the entire customer journey to produce the most streamlined and efficient customer experience. **Humans and Technology – High-Tech, High-Touch** We now live increasingly digital lives, and we recognise how [technology brings new possibility to modern banking](https://www.financedigest.com/6-technology-trends-banking-2019.html "6 Technology Trends for Banking in 2019") services, but today’s world is also clouded with uncertainty as we emerge from a pandemic and enter recessionary conditions. [Despite outsourcing and AI speeding up the process of dealing](https://www.financedigest.com/seven-out-of-ten-uk-adults-aged-25-44-never-seek-advice-on-dealing-with-debts-despite-depending-on-the-bank-of-mum-and-dad.html "Seven out of ten UK adults aged 25-44 never seek advice on dealing with debts despite depending on the bank of mum and dad") with customer queries, there is only so much a bot can do. Chatbots cannot imitate the ability to reassure a customer, or fully explain to them what is going on. Reassurance can only be achieved with a human voice. Maintaining a [human touch](https://www.financedigest.com/putting-the-human-touch-back-into-banking-magazine.html "“Putting the human touch back into banking”-Magazine"), now more than ever, is absolutely vital, and a key differentiator amongst banks. During these times, customers seek a personalized banking experience – and it has been revealed that if done well, [personalization can lead to a 10% annual revenue increase](https://www.bcg.com/publications/2019/what-does-personalization-banking-really-mean) for banks. Whilst customers [demand quick and efficient digital](https://www.financedigest.com/veraviews-welcomes-hoopla-digital-as-a-demand-partner.html "VeraViews Welcomes Hoopla Digital as a Demand Partner") services, they also value being able to speak to a human voice when they have a serious issue which cannot be resolved by AI. So, there has to be set rules, and set exceptions on when to pass a customer query on to a bot, and when to pass them on to a human. This will further streamline the process as it will allow the simpler queries to be dealt with by AI, meaning there are more [employees to deal](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-deal-with-challenging-employees.html "How to Deal With Challenging Employees?") with the more complex queries. Inevitably, this will improve customer experience, making customers feel [valued and boosting](https://www.financedigest.com/how-a-garden-can-boost-your-property-value.html "How a garden can boost your property value") retention. It is essential in the current economic [climate for customers to feel as if they are supported by their bank](https://www.financedigest.com/exclusive-world-bank-seeks-more-funds-to-address-climate-change-other-crises-document.html "Exclusive-World Bank seeks more funds to address climate change, other crises -document") and can lean on them, and a degree of human empathy is key to this. This ultimately all comes [back to ideas of agile banking](https://www.financedigest.com/banking-turmoil-means-recession-fears-are-creeping-back.html "Banking turmoil means recession fears are creeping back"). [Banks must listen to their customers and their needs in order to produce a customer experience](https://www.financedigest.com/the-rise-of-virtual-agents-the-future-banking-experience.html "The rise of virtual agents: the future banking experience") which is increasingly digital, yet still has that human touch, and maintains efficiency and cost-effectiveness for the bank itself. In order to keep their [heads above the water within this uncertain financial](https://www.financedigest.com/the-hidden-financial-woes-of-international-students-heading-for-the-uk.html "The Hidden Financial Woes of International Students Heading for the UK") landscape, and avoid losing customers to competitors, financial institutions need to focus on steering their digital capabilities to become more agile. The booming digitisation post-pandemic has resulted in customers expecting a new standard of experience, meaning that it is now essential for the BFSI sector to accelerate [digital transformation](https://www.financedigest.com/how-digital-is-transforming-finance-in-2023.html "How Digital Is Transforming Finance in 2023") to stay competitive. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---