Convenience is one of the biggest and best boons of the digital age. We can order from Amazon with a single click, instant access to music on Spotify and sign up for social media in less than five minutes. As Alexa and Siri continue to improve, we don’t even need the mouse and keyboard to get these tasks done anymore.
That’s why banks need to make sure they’re keeping up, simplifying services and focusing on convenient, easy-to-understand customer interaction.
Simplified Functions and Services
The priority in online banking has always been firmly focused on features first. As we move forward, this will start to shift to more of a user-first mentality, which is always going to necessitate simplification. Fewer functions, and prioritising intuitive services and operation.
Instead of continuing to habitually add new options and functions to apps and platforms, banks will start focusing on doing fewer functions better. People want easier, quicker to use and banking that is more convenient. That doesn’t mean endless tacked on services and functions.
Multilingual, Simple Terminology
It’s long been an issue within banking as a whole. Too many people shut off at the mere mention of most financial technology. It’s intimidating, confusing and simply makes banking services harder to engage with.
Removing any kind of language barrier and lowering the barrier is vital when it comes to encouraging financial literacy. In order to build a loyal customer base across the world, it’s vital to make sure that banks are not just using the right language, but also avoiding over complicated and unnecessarily complex language.
Simplified User Experience
At the end of the day, it all comes down to building a simplified user experience. Simple, straightforward language, streamlined services and functions, as well as working to eliminate friction and hassle when it comes to using the apps and services. This is vital when it comes to creating the kind of banking service that customers actually want to use.
No one wants to spend real time messing around on their bank account, it all needs to be as seamless, quick and integrated as possible. This is the key to modern digital banking.
A Real Focus on Lifestyle Banking
Banks need to start truly understanding their role within their customer’s lifestyle, and how to optimise their services for that role. Lifestyle focused banking allows banks to offer simple services that offer non-financial benefits within their experience.
This will all work to boost customer experience, deepening customer loyalty and building a seamless, straightforward service. This, in turn, allows the bank greater customer insights and understanding, which is vital when it comes to continuing to improve as a service.
While no one truly knows what the future of banking holds, it’s a fairly safe bet to aim at better and more convenient services. You can’t go wrong with banks that focus on effectively and simply provide the services customers need.