Not only accepted, but desired: For hygienic reasons, cashless payment is currently enjoying great popularity; the less contact during shopping, the better. Even the World Health Organisation recommends contactless payment. Financial institutions are therefore well advised to invest in technologies such as mobile payment. After all, such technologies help people to go about their everyday lives under new conditions. This applies to the entire mobile and digital banking sector worldwide; we are all too aware that the coronavirus knows no boundaries.
Digital lighthouse projects offer guidance
Jim Dobbs writes in American Banker that online and mobile banking have become more and more popular, while the branch office is becoming less important. As a result, it’s imperative that banks reallocate the spend of their technology budgets. Instead of continuing to invest vast sums in their complex systems to keep them operational, banks would be wise to limit themselves to the bare essentials and instead erect “digital” lighthouses that are clearly visible to customers. With well thought-out and truly customer-friendly digital and mobile applications, banks will not only set standards and show leadership in their sector, but also offer customers immediate guidance in what have become radically different and unsettling times.
Customers appreciate things they can see. They may not appreciate banks upgrading their backend systems, but they do value practical things, such as digital banking applications. Indeed, customers have been using them for some time to do their banking and engagement levels with applications has grown strongly – even those who may not have wanted to use them before are now dependent on them. Consequently, financial institutions are in a strong position; unlike other industries, banks have a solid foundation of users of their apps on which they can build. They have “digital options that allow their clients to do most of their banking without leaving home,” says American Banker. Analyst Damon DelMonte states: “Digital definitely minimises disruption for customers and significantly increases efficiency for banks. Instead of causing disruption, digitalisation guarantees a high degree of continuity, which is something we need especially today.”
