Customer experience in finance: How to be the best and beat the market

Now, over a quarter of British adults have an account with an online-only bank, about three times more than in 2019 - a figure which is expected to have risen to 36% by the end of 2022. 

With customer expectations higher than ever, it’s important for financial services providers to innovate and offer their customers a seamless experience. It’s easy to think that cost is a big barrier to this - but it doesn’t have to be. With the right technology, it’s possible to deliver digital innovation and save money. Here’s how. 

1. Simple onboarding = happy customers

Applying for a loan, new current account or other banking services can be a time-consuming and difficult process for customers to go through - but it doesn’t have to be. The truth is, the harder it is for customers to apply for these services, the more likely they are to choose a competitor. The goal, therefore, is to remove as much friction as possible from the process. 

Letting customers easily apply for credit or new accounts through mobile apps is a great way to save money while improving customer experience. If it’s impossible to complete the whole sign-up and authentication process digitally, it can still be worthwhile to digitise as much of the process as possible. When it comes to customer onboarding, we often find that if the first stages of the process are as smooth as possible, customers are much more likely to follow through and complete the sign-up - even if there’s friction later on. 

2. Enable simple digital transactions

The majority of customer interactions with banks involve quick tasks like checking their balance, making payments and managing direct debits. Nowadays, customers expect to be able to manage these transactions through a mobile app - so it’s important to ensure as much of this as possible can be managed digitally. 

One great example of this is the Charles Stanley Direct app. The wealth management firm had similar priorities to many consumer-facing banks - to keep up with developments in the market so they could attract and retain clients. That involved enabling key functions like share trading, account payments and customer feedback through in-app messaging. This meant they could streamline the user experience, allowing clients to trade via the app, pay money into their accounts and engage in live chat following intercom integration. 

3. Become the home of financial expertise

In a time of great economic instability, it’s more important than ever to ensure you’re giving customers easy access to clear and sound financial advice. Helping customers find this information digitally can help attract customers and save costs by reducing the amount of time they spend on the phone and in-branch. 

Through digital products like mobile apps, it’s possible to create a library of informative content through which customers can self-educate and inform. One good example of this is the Wave app by Chetwood Financial, which includes educational information and an interactive payment calculator to help customers understand how to manage their money. With the right technology, this can help attract and inform customers while saving time and costs for your organisation. 

Innovation is at the heart of everything

In financial services, it’s more important than ever to attract and retain customers - and technology sits right at the heart of that. That might involve building a new mobile app or digital product from scratch - but it doesn’t have to. It can be just as valuable to think about how to improve an existing digital product with new features or updates. Whatever the solution, the key lies in building a culture of innovation and constantly thinking about the best way to iterate and improve.