When the stakes are great, banks may move with unbelievable agility. Closed branches, home-based workers, digital and virtual services. With it, customers who preferred a face-to-face interaction with their financial services provider are supported. Consumers still chose traditional channels (counter service, ATMs, mail, phone) in November 2020. In 2021, smartphone apps (39%) eclipsed all other channels to become the most popular way for US consumers to handle their bank accounts, ahead of browser-based online banking (32%), but 10% still desired a branch visit to be the cornerstone of their banking relationship (down from 17 percent just months earlier). Therefore, understanding about the customer experience trends becomes inevitable.

Modern Banking

COVID-19 influenced consumer behavior as expected. Due to the epidemic and the modifications people had to make to their routines, 41% of banked U.S. consumers only manage their funds digitally, making it one of the biggest digital banking trends.

Many of these new habits and trends are anticipated to continue and will be a core pillar of banking customer experience trends and management. COVID-19 limits have forced 76% of consumers to use digital channels for the first time to complete face-to-face brand interactions. Because of their favorable experience, 57% plan to continue online connections. Customer experience in banking and beyond has changed; banks shouldn’t resort to old practices.

Banking customer experience trends for 2022

1. Mobile app data enhances products & services

Self-service is a fast-growing banking trend. Customers can now access their bank’s resources from their mobile device anyplace with Wi-Fi, which was formerly a distant dream.

Mobile banking apps are a must-have in today’s market, and institutions without them are at a disadvantage because clients anticipate their ease. These apps are easy to construct with a low-code platform or a vendor.

2. Future branch

Customers may not visit branches as often as before, but banks can’t ignore them. Most brick-and-mortar banks understood early on that internet banking posed a threat to their model, that free coffee and Wi-Fi aren’t enough to attract modern consumers, and that their physical branches will be closed if they fail to earn a profit.

Brick-and-mortar banks are reimagining what a physical branch may be and what the “branch of the future” should look like to compete with online banks and improve customer experiecne. Some banks have tried a showroom-style design akin to Apple Stores, displaying rows of smartphones with their banking app so users can see it in action.

3. Consulting

Most banking clients want to expand their money but don’t know where to start. Those who turn to the internet for direction will find financial site advice instructive but too broad to be useful. This gives banks the chance to improve financial services CX by linking consumers with in-house financial advisors.

With CRM technology, you can collect and analyze data to generate detailed customer profiles for your in-house advisers. This knowledge allows advisors to deliver individualized advise for customers at every point of their financial journey, develop deeper customer connections, and ensure customer loyalty.

4. Artificial Intelligence

Calling a bank’s customer care helpline only to be put on hold is frustrating. With inbound calls rising and not enough representatives, financial institution contact centers are stressed.

With self-service growing more popular, creative solutions are being created to relieve this strain and improve the banking client experience. Instead of calling, clients can now consult AI-enabled chatbots. These chatbots draw information from the bank’s knowledge base and CRM client profiles to reply to customer care enquiries. If a customer’s request is too complex for the chatbot, it’s escalated to a real agent who can help. More banking apps are natively offering chatbot technology, so users can rapidly handle issues from anywhere, at any time.

Learn how appICE can help you in automating your marketing campaign

5. Auto-onboarding

For most banking customers, onboarding is the first impression. New client onboarding traditionally entails filling out and signing reams of paper, which burdens onboarding staff and increases the likelihood of process bottlenecks. By making onboarding electronic, banks make it easy for consumers to give key information from home. Banks can then employ automation to speed up crucial aspects of the account-opening process, improving CX by learning more customer experience trends.

6. Digitalization, remote service

Digital channels and distant services are 2020’s biggest lessons. Many banking customers, especially older generations with little computer literacy, have struggled to go digital. In 2022, banks must redouble their efforts to help these consumers switch to internet banking. This will need banks to deliver educational content like step-by-step instructions, interactive films and webinars, and customer knowledge bases. The more confident and comfortable a consumer is using digital channels and remote services, the better their financial services experience will be.

Also Read –Banking Customer Experience Transformation – 6 Effective Approaches

7. “Humanizing” Digital

AI and digital channels are leading 2022 banking customer experience, but human interaction is still important. A rising number of institutions combine AI and live help for customer service, reaping efficiency gains while still giving the human touch clients seek. Some financial organizations have taken this concept a step further, giving chatbots personalities, customizing conversation starters, and utilizing sentiment analysis to identify emotion and respond appropriately.

8. Hyper-personalization

Personalization has been at the top of  customer experience trends lists for years. Banks too: Personalization at scale may boost annual revenue by 10%, according to BCG.

Personalization at scale may boost annual revenue by 10%, according to BCG.

Financial institutions, notably fintech firms, will explore hyper-personalization in 2022. Hyper-personalization drills down to the individual consumer, while conventional personalization targets customer segments. Banks can accomplish hyper-personalization by employing predictive analytics, AI, and machine learning to monitor clients’ real-time usage data, such as search terms, content preferences, geographic location, etc.

9. Initiative

Advanced analytics gives financial firms unprecedented customer knowledge. Now, banks may monitor consumers’ financial health and proactively offer management help or wealth-building opportunities. Hence, based on the customer’s preference, proactive engagement can take place in-person, over the phone, through their banking app, via email, etc. More banks will go above and beyond in 2022 to protect their customers’ interests, demonstrating their value and enhancing the financial services customer experience.

10. Righteousness

After a difficult year that put many people’s finances under strain, banks must do more for their consumers in 2022.

Conceptually, this is straightforward. Be upfront with your consumers about how you utilize and secure their data. Openness and honesty about data policies and practices shows good will and earns trust from banking consumers. 69% of customers think honesty and transparency about personal data use is key to creating confidence; 42% say they require clear communication on data regulatory compliance.

Banks can help clients in different ways. Hyper-personalization can help you reassess your institution’s marketing approach so you only target clients with items and services that meet their requirements and aspirations. Financial advising services can assist clients recover after a difficult year and show you care about their long-term well-being.

Doing the right thing means showing them you’ll put their interests first, however that looks.