Today, everyone is taking about mobile banking and it’s no surprise since we are all using mobile devices. The trend will continue in the coming years because network reach is expanding quickly and mobile phones are costing a lot less than they used to.
Even tech giants like Google are working on several schemes to make broadband connectivity available in the most remote regions.
Where’s the personalised touch?
While mobile banking offers easy, lightning-fast financial solutions for the modern age, do people miss the warm experience of personalised services? With a money saving app and budgeting applications, there is little need for face-to face interaction with organisations. There are concerns that banking institutions may lose their human appeal.
Years ago, the idea of personalised banking was to give clients the reassurance that their money was protected and managed by professionals. A tastefully furnished room was set up, and smartly dressed staff with warm personalities served to combine human appeal with professionalism.
Today, our banking habits seem to have no need for personalised interaction. As long as there is an internet service, users can transfer money anytime without stepping into a bank.
Modern consumer behaviour
While it may be argued that the presence of a personalised service is still important, it is also necessary to understand how consumer behaviour has changed over the years. Today, the average consumer is impatient- thanks to the efficiency of technology.
Back then, people could afford to spend 20 minutes discussing with their banker over tea; a luxury which the majority of customers cannot entertain today. The service of mobile banking is fast and more solutions-driven, a similar pattern observed in modern consumers. If it can be done on a mobile device, why waste time in a bank?
Banking on-the-go is the order of the day, but it doesn’t mean people will ignore personalised service when it is presented.
Steps to give mobile banking a personalised touch
Many banks have realised the consequences of making a service too automated. For one, the brand is in danger of losing its emotional appeal. An emotional personality is key to establishing a lasting relationship with your customers, otherwise they’ll easily switch to another service when you fail to deliver.
It is no news that some people retain their service-providers, even when they disappoint, because of the element of an emotional appeal. Here are some ways that banks add a personal touch to a mobile banking experience:
- A friendly more interactive mobile site
- A hospitable online ‘banking assistant’
- Presence of contact numbers and instant chat
- Frequent newsletters with persuasive copy
The mobile banking culture may not be able to replace the traditional personalised system entirely, but it attempts to make their experience more welcoming. We don’t need to worry about taking time out of our days to run to and from a bank to sort our accounts. Thanks to handy money saving apps, we can move money at the click of a button, from the comfort of our own homes.
Whether or not we will see physical bank branches closing down remains to be seen, but it’s safe to assume that bank overheads will be dramatically reduced with the advances in financial technology that we’ve seen develop over the course of the last fifteen years.
