The Pandemic is Accelerating Digital Transformation of Retail Banking

Customer switching to online and mobile services, which is expected to continue, poses challenges for banks to duplicate face-to-face experiences in their digital offerings and to boost overall customer experience, according to the Boston Consulting Group report.

Fremont, CA: The digital transformation is accelerating in the banking sector as a result of COVID-19, driven by employees working remotely and customers progressively doing their banking online and seeking seamless experience.

Customer switching to online and mobile services, which is expected to continue, poses challenges for banks to duplicate face-to-face experiences in their digital offerings and to boost overall customer experience, according to the Boston Consulting Group report.

In order to respond to changes in client behavior and demands and employee collaboration, banks need to take a serious look at communication software, cyber security, open APIs, cloud computing, and deeper data-driven thought, said Dan Bennett, Managing Partner of OurCrowd Australia, during the recent OurCrowd Pandemic Innovation Conference virtual investment platform session on the future bank.

NAB Boosts Its Digital Transformation

In addition to accelerating digital interactions around work and client services, another major development that the National Australia Bank (NAB) is seeing is heading towards a cashless society.

The move to a cashless society is a long-term trend as customers choose digital payments over cash and reduce their use of checks and manual and face-to-face interactions, she noted. Even before the pandemic, its customers were becoming largely “digital-first” customers and expected seamless integrated and personalized experiences.

In order to remain competitive, NAB has concentrated on rising its pace, agility, relevance and resilience. On the employee hand, within a week, the bank, which started a nearly $5 billion digitization journey two years ago, had 28,000 workers working remotely, including call centers, service centers and relationship banking.

Highlighting its cloud computing strategy, Carver noted that NAB has recently migrated its transactional banking platform to the cloud. The step would help create resilience and boost customer experience, as well as get its goods on the market in a matter of weeks. The company has also invested in payment APIs to help ensure more flexibility and speed.