For banks, meeting the needs of their clients is a challenge that they should constantly rise to. In the age where digital technology has become part and parcel of daily life, this means offering financial products and services that digital natives and immigrants alike can access and make full use of. To provide the full range of services that the times require, members of the banking, finance and insurance services (BFIS) industry are fast-tracking digital transformation within their establishments.
This task, however, is easier said than done. To truly embrace the digital revolution, banks need to partner with a technology solutions provider that can help them overcome a number of challenges. Here are some of the most common hurdles that financial and banking institutions must clear to provide the digital banking customer experience that their respective markets currently need and deserve:
Getting the Support of the Senior Management
One of the primary challenges of entering the age of digital revolution is convincing the senior management team that digitalization is essential to the survival of the business. The task of creating and implementing processes and products in and for a digital environment, after all, is one that requires a significant investment of time, manpower, and other resources. Getting a favourable response from managers who cling to more traditional beliefs and methods will almost always be an uphill battle for proponents of digitalization within the organization.
Convincing the senior management that digitalization is key to ensuring the continued operation of a business is not an impossible task, though. It’s true that it’s a costly move, but digitalization can also save the bank money in the long run. Proponents of digital transformation can do this by showing the senior management how the cost of IT spending continues to grow year after year for companies that delay digitalization. They can also bring up the steps that the bank’s competitors are taking to bring their businesses up to speed with the current technological trends and how digitalization will impact overhead costs, productivity, and efficiency in the long run. It’s a good idea to remind bank leadership that time is of the essence, and delaying digital transformation further will widen the gap between the company and its more agile competitors.
The Level of Investment That the Task Requires
After recognizing that digitalization—and not just digitization, or the process of converting paper documents into digital form—is essential to the survival of the business, the next step is to contend with the costs associated with it. Understandably, there are very few companies that have the budget to carry out a full digital transformation within their ranks. The good news is that digitalization doesn’t have to happen in one fell swoop in order for a bank to enjoy the benefits of using digital technology.
It’s perfectly acceptable to upgrade the bank’s internal processes one at a time, as many of the digital tools and packages offered by solutions providers are designed to bridge the gap between legacy systems and cutting-edge digital technology. Adopting digital services and processes can be an ongoing task for the bank, and the cost of upgrading the bank’s systems can be divided into reasonable amounts spread out over a longer period of time. While software upgrades are being implemented, the bank can focus on training staff members on how to use these new additions to the existing system. Software and skills upgrades, done at the same time, will enable the bank to maximize the advantages offered by the technology it currently has access to.
Sourcing the Technology From a Third-Party Partner
Banks specialize in providing financial services, which is why the task of introducing digital processes and functionalities to banking institutions often falls on the shoulders of third-party solutions providers. Banks and solutions providers must work closely to ensure the success of the digitalization process within the financial establishment. The bank should be prepared to communicate its goals, priorities, and processes to its chosen solutions provider. This way, the solutions provider can offer options that will suit the bank’s particular needs and help address the common pain points in the bank’s current system.
While solutions providers often work with a wide variety of people and departments within the bank, it’s the bank’s IT department that has to deal with the bulk of the digitalization process. The teams from the bank and the technology provider should support each other and treat the process as a collaborative effort between the bank and the tech company.
Given all these challenges, it’s clear that banks should make every effort to find a technology solutions provider that will allow them to digitize their internal processes and keep up with the technology that industry leaders are currently using. Before shopping around for a solutions provider, banks should have a clear idea of what they hope to achieve by embracing digital technology, the challenges they expect to face during the process of upgrading their system, and the services and products that they want to get from their solutions provider. Doing so will help banks narrow down their options to the technology company that offers them the best package.
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