Company insight
buying cycle. That investment can be put to work for corporate clients, with whom banks can strengthen their relationships by allowing them to leverage that intelligence. “Banks need to be alive to what their customers’ needs are at different stages of their life cycle,” says Tuck. “As we saw during the pandemic, their needs changed almost overnight and the way in which banks react to that need is key to continually being able to service our customers in the right way.” A prime example is NatWest’s support for customers seeking loans through government schemes in the UK during the pandemic. The bank quickly set up the application process for ‘bounce back’ loans; a process that, in the past, would have taken months. Over a weekend, it created a digital, end-to-end process for NatWest customers. “It’s that kind of reaction using the data insights that we have on our customers to drive the right outcomes that will be key to our success going forward,” says Tuck. “Understanding the customer’s needs and having personalised solutions is key. So, looking through our commercial customers into the type of customers that they’re supporting, and bringing insights to support that is a really good opportunity.” Twigg gives the example of a car loan application. Rather than receiving just a letter or email, the customer could receive a loan acceptance message via a mobile device, along with links to preferred cars that fit their value criteria. That could come from a car dealership that is also a corporate client of the bank. Coming at the same time as confirmation of the loan acceptance, the potential purchase will be top of mind, which could significantly increase the likelihood of a purchase. “You can apply the same to home improvements or holidays, directing the end consumer to the brand, at the most pivotal time in the buying process,” Twigg adds. “The bank is providing real value to the corporate client, which is able to leverage the bank’s insight, intelligence and communication channels. The bank provides real value to those corporate clients, helping them secure customers and help their customers to join the dots in terms of their decision making. It can accelerate revenues for corporate clients.”
Future Banking /
www.nsbanking.com
Customers are seeking personalised solutions to online banking – expecting access wherever they are. Primed for partnership
Instead of investing in their own systems, banks are more focused on investments in innovation through partners. One key area is the development of APIs to allow customers to get direct access to banks’ systems from wherever they are. “We have the ambition to be the bank of APIs and we are spending a significant amount of time and energy at the moment looking at how we best plug in our own capabilities,” says Tuck. “In the UK, Open Banking presents a huge opportunity for using data to help customers be more insightful, as well as helping the bank to be more relevant.”
Blockchain is also on the agenda in areas such as trade finance, which is typically mired in paper-based processes – but could be a much more seamless experience with better risk mitigation. Even more important, however, is the creation of an ecosystem that connects the dots between retail customers and commercial clients, and links them to both banking products and non-banking products in a seamless and efficient way. “Customers don’t care about banking products, they care about the outcomes that those banking products can provide,” says Tuck. “So, providing a suite of
solutions for customers that is simple to navigate, whether we provide them as a bank or whether we partner with third parties, is going to be the future for financial institutions.”
In terms of engagement, this means linking brand banking apps with other channels, not least social media, to give customers choice about how they interact and creating two-way communication that fosters engagement and loyalty. “These are becoming features of omnichannel engagement,” says Twigg. “It’s the combination of them that is key for banks and the corporate customers to embrace. But ultimately, the most effective communication should always put the customer preference at the heart of it.” As in-person, in-branch interactions tailed off during the pandemic – and even beforehand – an omnichannel strategy became more critical than ever. People, digital services, products and automation are all pivotal to being a relationship bank, one that cares about its partners and customers – blending efficiency with personal engagement. The mobile ecosystem of the future will bring banks and their customers closer together. ●
www.syniverse.com 47
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Shutterstock.com
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