The Skills Driving Digital Banking Success
• Deep Knowledge of Banking Products and Regulations: A strong understanding of money movement rules, regulatory compliance, ‘Information Display and Reporting’ needs for end users, and security/fraud prevention frameworks ensures that digital servicing solutions are of industry standards and expectations.
• Strong Market and Industry Awareness: Understanding where the market is heading to shape the right digital priorities.
• Creative, Cross Functional Problem Solving: Thinking beyond traditional boundaries and stepping into multiple roles—from product strategist to customer journey designer to UAT tester.
• Clear Prioritization and Ownership: Knowing when to push beyond the expected, escalate, or invest extra time is essential for delivering high quality outcomes while balancing resource constraints and business objectives.
The Security-Experience Paradox
Finding the right balance between customer experience improvements and security protocol implementation is one of the toughest aspects of my role. These decisions directly influence customer satisfaction, as increased security often introduces friction into the user journey. We typically look at this challenge from two angles:
Educating or restricting user behavior on the front end, or Implementing security controls in backend applications that remain invisible to customers.
Both approaches rely on a thorough risk analysis of the user action and the potential impact if the risk is not mitigated. Based on the required approach and the degree of behavior change expected from customers, we communicate with internal and external stakeholders through various channels. While proactive communication can help reduce dissatisfaction, it does not always eliminate customer friction entirely.
In contrast, implementing regulatory requirements is usually more straightforward. Regulations often become industry standards, and customers quickly adapt when these changes are consistent across financial institutions. This helps reduce the perception that we are uniquely restrictive.
What Makes the Cut for Digital Enhancements
I usually look at a few simple things: budget, how much effort it’ll take, and what happens if we don’t do it right now. Some of the questions I ask myself are:
• Are we going to fall behind the industry if we wait?
• Is there an easy workaround that solves the problem for now?
• Will delaying this cause financial loss—or could implementing it bring in revenue
Those factors help me decide what needs to go on the roadmap now versus what can wait.
Turning Feedback into Actionable Strategy
We use customer data and feedback as a main driver for shaping and improving our digital servicing strategy. My core principle is to have a solution that is ‘Client first – Bank’s best’ option.
“Digital banking is cross-functional by nature. The more you understand adjacent areas, the better your decisions and leadership will become.”
First, we collect feedback from multiple channels— surveys, call center insights, app reviews, and direct customer complaints. Once we have that input, we group it into themes so we can understand the real pain points and opportunities.
From there, we evaluate each item against a few criteria:
• Industry standards: We compare customer requests to what competitors and the broader market are offering. If it’s becoming a standard expectation, it naturally moves higher on our priority list.
• Feasibility: We look at whether the request is technically possible and how complex the work would be for our teams.
• Urgency of need: Some requests solve frequent or high-friction issues, so addressing those creates immediate value for customers.
• Cost and resourcing: We assess the estimated cost to implement the change and the resources required, then balance that against the expected benefit.
With all that information, we can determine what will truly improve the digital experience versus what might be a lower impact “nice to have.” This helps us make smarter decisions about what to build now, what to schedule for later, and what to decline or explore through alternative solutions.
Preparing Teams for Tomorrow’s Digital Landscape
My two favorite approaches are:
1. Encouraging continuous learning and industry connection:
I push my team to stay connected to what’s happening in digital banking—building relationships with peers, attending conferences, and taking relevant courses. Staying close to industry trends helps them anticipate evolving customer expectations rather than reacting to them.
2. ‘Client first–Bank’s Best’ option:
I guide the team to put customer needs first while also considering what makes the most sense for the bank—whether that’s cost, effort, time to deliver, or security implications. This balance helps us design solutions that genuinely help customers and are sustainable for the organization.
Remember that even in a digital and AI driven world, human connections matter more than ever. Many of the best leadership skills in digital banking aren’t taught—they’re learned by observing others. So, build a strong network with people who have the right expertise and leadership qualities you want to develop. Don’t limit yourself to your immediate area of expertise. Digital banking is cross functional by nature. The more you understand adjacent areas—technology, operations, security, customer experience, risk, and analytics—the better your decisions and leadership will become. Stay plugged in to what’s happening in the industry. Digital banking moves fast, and news about regulations, technology, and customer trends can affect your organization quickly. Make it a habit to stay informed, and don’t hesitate to ask experts for help interpreting what these changes mean for your business.
