In the last decade, digital technologies have evolved rapidly, directly impacting consumer behavior and expectations in the financial sector. With changing consumer behaviors, the pressure rises on financial institutions (FIs) to serve those consumers better, faster and more cheaply.
As consumers have shifted their banking activities toward digital channels for routine transactions, cost-cutting pressures have led many FIs to consequently reduce and optimize their branch network. This raises perhaps one of the most vital and strategic questions facing FIs today: How do you ensure the right balance between your physical and digital channels—and (ideally) create that balance by leveraging your existing investments?
Self-Service and Choice Take Priority
A customer survey from Banking Voice found that 60% of C-Level banking executives believe the ATM can replace the branch network over time, while 30% think it could be a hybrid model (ATMs and physical branches)*. What’s the reality “on the ground”?
The fact of the matter is, the COVID-19 pandemic completely reshaped the world and our lifestyle over the last two years. It accelerated the global demand for, and adoption of, digital-first experiences and self-service channels.
We partnered with NielsenIQ to survey 12,000 banking consumers and discovered significant changes in consumer behavior, highlighted by increased digital and self-service channel adoption during COVID. In the survey, 95% of respondents noted that they use self-service channels at least sometimes, 85% of respondents use a digital channel, and 82% use ATMs or banking kiosks at least once per month.
On the banking side, the Banking Voice survey found that 95% of FIs believe there is an opportunity to automate more transactions from teller to self-service. Clearly, most FIs have moved their digital strategies to a top priority to meet the accelerated consumer demand for digital and self-service channels. The question that comes next to mind is longevity: how many of these changes reflect long-term evolution, and how many are temporary trends based on current events? We believe the majority of these changes will be permanent, and FIs need to react quickly to retain their customers.
Automation Should Simplify Processes for Consumers and FIs
At DN, we help FIs merge their physical and digital channels into a seamless, frictionless ecosystem that reflects the way consumers bank today. Through open APIs, flexible software and advanced functionality, we’re shifting the ATM from a simple “cash & dash” machine to a strategic point of engagement for consumers, one that’s connected to the rest of your organization’s channels.
One of the easiest ways to fast-track your FI’s digital evolution is with
Vynamic® Branch Transformation Transaction Automation & Claims Assist software. You’ll realize the full benefits of advanced transactions at your self-service channels conducted directly from your core banking system using Transaction Automation—we’ve found it can help you migrate more than 80% of your teller transactions to self-service, helping you save network processing costs and improve branch efficiency. It also makes the self-service experience more convenient and empowers consumers by providing additional capabilities on self-service devices with 24/7 access. Combined with Transaction Automation, Claims Assist offers your staff more robust transaction visibility during claims/dispute management, so you can quickly resolve claims in minutes instead of days or weeks.
The future is here, whether your organization is ready or not. With simple, seamless tools and solutions, you’ll be prepared to meet that future. From cardless transactions to interactive video teller, advanced marketing at the ATM and more, we can help you think strategically about your branch transformation and digital strategies, so you have an answer to the pivotal channel-choice question.
Let's start a conversation today.
*Diebold Nixdorf proprietary data
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