New CREALOGIX survey reveals retail banks' "hot topics"

What are the “hot topics” in terms of trends and technology? And what solutions are banks looking for to grow through digital innovation?

CREALOGIX conducted a survey with the retail banking community*.
Generally, the banks’ responses centred around three main topics:

1. Customer-centricity – 75% of the banks surveyed wanted to become more customer-centric. They cited the need to meet customers’ needs/demands and enhance satisfaction by providing functionality that simplifies the customer journey.
2. Useful Innovation – 66% of banks want to provide innovative solutions that improve customer experience overall. They see simple, innovative functionality as key, it doesn’t always have to be “fancy”.
3. Ecosystem – 50% of banks believe that using synergies (i.e. leveraging ecosystems) is important for reaching these goals.

Simplifying the customer journey

For mobile-first solutions, the banks surveyed said their emphasis is on simplifying the customer journey, with a focus on app development, rather than full-blown e-banking. They said that mobile-first has the advantage of reaching key target groups, particularly the younger generation who always carry their smartphones with them.

This approach aims to ensure a positive user experience and new features can be implemented, such as split bills, cardless ATM withdrawals or QR code bills and payments. In addition, banks said they can use new touchpoints/channels, such as conversational banking/AI.

Addressing different expectations

In terms of UX/UI, mobile users have very different expectations compared with desktop users. Frequently used functions should therefore be easily accessible on mobile devices, e.g. to make a quick transfer on the train. This can reduce barriers, as banking does not have to be done only at home on a laptop/desktop.

The challenge is to simplify usage, make it more intuitive and reduce redundancy of steps to perform tasks.

Adapting desktop to mobile can be difficult and often impacts UX drastically. The reality is that today’s users become accustomed to easy and seamless UX concepts from major digital retailers like Amazon, but also increasingly neobanks such as Revolut and N26. So, banks have the need to stay “modern” and focus on continuously improving the customer experience via excellent user journeys.

Instant payment functionality

Instant payments is already available through different payment methods (e.g. credit card networks) as well as regional/national solutions (e.g. Twint) which offer such functionality. While this clearly provides added value for customers, some banks cannot provide instant payment functionality today and many others were not able to integrate it smoothly.

(*Retail banks in Switzerland)