What a year has it been?
Digital banking is the new normal for 2021.
It is not debatable that 2020 made us deliver unexpected changes and challenges in every way possible. Every industry has been through changes beyond expectations, specially banks and financial organisations. As many of us were forced to become part of the digital banking ecosystem regardless of the fact of being a goal in the past or not. Although Sweden had been emphasizing on digital banking, however the coronavirus pandemic expedited the process in ways that will continue to change the way you interact with your financial institutions this coming year.
Sweden took a different approach compared to the rest of the world when it comes to limiting access to public places or lockdown. Even though banks limited their branch access and hours, to the fear of coronavirus contaminating paper notes and coins, the Covid-19 definitely fast-tracked the changing relationship between consumers and their banks or credit unions. Trends that arose in 2020 are setting the stage for a digitally focused banking future that’s arriving somewhat earlier than imagined.
Banks and credit unions are pouring resources into digital security to protect consumers’ information and information. Although the increase in digital banking among consumers isn’t exactly a new phenomenon, the significant increase in consumers’ use of mobile apps and websites for their banking transactions in the past year creates a prime target for hackers. This is the reason why financial institutions are investing a lot in cyber security solutions.
According to the Deloitte Center for Financial Services Global Outlook Survey 2020, 71% of bank leaders expect their organizations to increase cybersecurity spending, with cloud computing/storage and data privacy rounding out the top three areas of needed improvement to combat the risk of data breaches.
For financial institutions, digital resources and tools are now one of the prime focuses and it will be for the foreseeable future. However, the big question is where does personal interaction come into play in this traditionally in-person business?
According to experts, in -person banking is very very important. They believe without a human touch to the customer experience, consumers may begin to feel disconnected from their financial institution, potentially leading to ongoing customer churn. Consumers might not feel that their financial assets are secure and feeling your needs are met.
Obviously there will always be pros and cons to anything, however digital banking sounds pretty interesting to me and can’t wait to see and hear more from the experts in the new year.
