Investing in online and mobile channels was not intended to simply provide additional channels for customers to access their accounts. The promise of reduced costs, increased cross-sales and enhanced service was the objective for most banks.
The good news is that online and mobile channel adoption is very high, meaning that customers are downloading mobile banking apps to their phones and creating online access points at a high rate. Unfortunately, that’s where the momentum has stopped.
Third in a Series on Big Data in Banking
Instead of migrating more expensive interactions to less costly channels, consumers have actually increased their total interactions. “In talking to all types of banks across the globe, we’re hearing a similar story – customers are signing-up for online and mobile banking, but calls into the call centers are not decreasing at any noticeable rate,” says Ido Ophir, head of products at Personetics. “People are still calling with transaction-related questions and even account-level questions.”
A recent industry report revealed that more than 30 percent of customer service calls were preceded by an online visit. That’s a large percentage, especially when the vast majority of these questions can easily be answered in the digital self-services channels.
Based on the numbers being
reported by large banks, while they have several million signed up for digital banking services, less than
10% are using mobile banking in any real capacity each month. So, while banks have done a great job of signing
up consumers for online and mobile banking, customers are not fully leveraging
what these self-service channels have to offer. The utilization problem actually goes even further - most customers log
in to check balances or look at individual transaction details, but only a very
small percent use in-depth or multiple features like funds transfers and check
image deposits on a regular basis.
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Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System - Consumers and Mobile Financial
Services (March 2013)
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The question is, what’s stopping them?
Is it that:
- They don’t want anything else? . . . Show me the balance and I’m done.
- They can’t find what they’re looking for? . . . They get frustrated and leave.
- The service they want isn’t offered? . . . Only high-level transaction inquiry; no detailed information.
- They aren’t sure what they’re looking for? . . . Expecting better personal guidance.
- They don’t know what to do or where to go? . . . Poor user interface.
