Banks and finance companies increasingly have to face the challenges of digital transformation. The way in which clients would like to communicate with their banks has changed radically in recent years. Clients would now like to interact with their bank no matter where they are or what time of the day or night it is. Banks have taken up this trend and are in the process of becoming multichannel banks, according to the “Banking & Insurance Benchmark“ (PDF) survey commissioned by Unic. However, a study on trends titled “Banks and Future 2015“ undertaken by the Fraunhofer Society for Industrial Engineering and Organization IAO confirms that many banks are only at the very start of this transformation process.
Already at the 19th banking symposium of the German Central Bank, board member Dr. Andreas Dombret in his speech called for strategies to be developed for dealing with digitalization.
Digital in the future
The 388 participants from finance institutions representing all banking groups in Germany is focusing strongly on reducing costs and in this regard aims to optimize the sales organization and customer orientation. According to Fraunhofer IAO, the outcomes of the study can be interpreted as showing that new relationships with customers will predominantly be established via digital channels. This is underlined by the planned growth and development of digital sales channels, with which banks have long had a great amount of untapped potential. By contrast, the Unic survey shows that several banks have already made significant progress with regard to digital transformation. However, this survey is mainly focused on the customer experience on the internet and mobile channels.
Innovative communication technologies needed
The trend study carried out by Fraunhofer IAO expressly points out that the use of innovative communication technologies is an essential component in designing banking processes and implementing a future-oriented business model. It is important to ensure the success of communications-based business processes with highly developed interfaces, global availability and absolute fail-safety. Banks also have the highest requirements for quality, speed and data security.
Find out more about how Retarus can support banks and finance institutes in optimizing their digital communication in our “Retarus for Banking” special.
