Customer satisfaction has been an important part of business success in most industries, though the financial and banking industries have historically displayed far less concern for customer happiness and are often spoken of cynically by their clients. Fortunately for the customer, the tides are turning, and banking and financial institutions are being forced to recognize the value of their users and treat them with more care. Fintech has come to the rescue, helping these organizations collect and analyze customer data, putting solutions in place for enhanced customer engagement and fulfillment, and providing innovative products that better meet customer needs.
Thanks to the growing regard for and use of Big Data and Big Data Analytics, consumers are becoming accustomed to personalized offerings and tailored services that provide an individual fit. And although in the past many organizations have sent the obligatory birthday wishes by email, sometimes even landing on an individual’s actual birth date, fintech promises so much more. When implemented by organizations paying more than mere lip service to customer happiness, fintech allows for the detailed analysis of transactions both financial and miscellaneous for the provision of customized advice, more suitable product offerings, and services that make a difference to an individual rather than an average user group.
Though financial advice isn’t hard to come by, sound financial advice suited to one individual is a whole other ball game. Thanks to innovative banking and financial services apps which track the spending and budgeting of a particular user, fintech services are able to analyze collected data for more worthy output that directly benefits the user in question. Not only providing these users with a snapshot of their financial situation at any time, quality fintech applications are able to advise users how best to save and invest, encourage healthy debt management, and support sound financial practices.
Included in a growing list of worthy innovations are services such as drive-thru tellers which quickly and conveniently service customers, online appointment bookings, remote customer support available via desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone, and mobile applications for easier transacting and interaction. Some shrewd financial organizations are even making use of location tracking in order to provide timeous and relevant offerings to customers where they need them most.
For some time fintech startups had the banks looking warily over their shoulders, either struggling to keep up with these pioneering go-getters or stubbornly insisting they were nothing more than a passing trend; no more. Banking institutions recognize the need for change, and though some are implementing new technology grudgingly, most realize the benefits of fintech are not one-sided, but instead help both the organization as a whole and the individual customers. That’s not to say that the banks have won the fintech war, far from it. Instead, we’re seeing a market with smaller fintech startups disrupting the financial environment and offering select services, while the large banks innovate in more conventional and discrete modes. We’re not likely to see any of the banking giants offering any particularly divergent solutions any time soon, but as long as they’re keeping up with recent tech advances that further customer satisfaction, most clients will be appeased.
For the more inspiring solutions, perhaps it’s best we leave them to the inventive fintech startups, with their services typically taken up by early adopters who are less risk averse. Not all of these innovations will necessarily make it in the long run, and most of us feel more comfortable knowing our finances are safely cared for by an established and reliable ‘old school’ bank. As long as the banks continue to advance their technology at a reasonable pace, and fintech startups present us with the latest novelties and improvements, we’ll see a financial landscape more customer-centric and user-friendly than ever.
By Jennifer Klostermann
