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Rapid development of self-service banking to happen alongside investments in big data, business intelligence, AI and biometrics
A revolution in self-service banking is planned by banks in Europe and North America over next three years, according to the findings of a new survey sponsored by Auriga, a leading supplier of technological solutions for the omnichannel banking and payments industries and conducted by ATM Marketplace.
Most banks (69 percent) surveyed said they planned to introduce or expand their use of advanced ATMs including assisted self-service devices and terminals (ASDs/ASSTs). This will be transformative because nearly half of banks have no ASD/ASSTs deployed today.
The ATM Marketplace report “Branch Transformation for Financial Institutions” surveyed about 150 technology leaders within leading banks. The objective was to explore how advanced technology solutions are being adopted to maximise branch processes, sales and customer experience opportunities.
Branch Transformation, Not Closure, Strategic Focus
The study projects how branches will be transformed over the next three years. This includes strategies for branch modernisation (71 percent), increases in ASD/ASSTs (58 percent) and cross-channel integration or how customers can begin a transaction on one channel and finish it on another (52 percent). Notably, over half of banks (57 percent) surveyed said closing branches was not part of their strategy within the next three years.
Self-service banking is integral to make branches smarter at engaging with customers and prospects. Cross channel integration, integration with mobile devices, new concepts for user interfaces and analytics are the top four focus areas for self-service software technologies.
Commenting on the findings, Mark Aldred, Head of International sales, Auriga said:
Self-service banking is being driven by focusing on the customer journey. This is extremely welcome when banks get such bad publicity for slashing back their branch networks and services. The determination to integrate channels to offer the best possible customer experience is going to be a critical driver of growth for banks especially as they compete against challenger banks for new customers.
Digital Technology & Data Analytics Key to Improving Customer Experience
Most banks (73 percent) are looking to implement new technology solutions to improve how customers and visitors are welcomed in the branch by staff. Reasons for these new solutions include offering a better in-branch experience (69 percent of respondents), better anticipate individual customer needs (66 percent) and augment the ability of staff to serve customers (63 percent). Conversely, use of these solutions to monitor customers or inform and entertain through digital signage were less important (38 percent and 28 percent respectively).
The study confirms data analytics will play a crucial role in customer experience management over the next three years. Even though a majority currently use data analytics software or services (61 percent), most (83 percent) still plan to implement more data to gain a comprehensive view of customer banking channels and services. Within this new investment, there will be a focus on forecasting software with 80 percent saying they plan this as part of their future business and banking strategies
Wider Investment in Big Data, AI and Business Intelligence
Alongside digital branch strategies, the study spotlights wider technology investment. Banks rate their most important technology investments to be big data analytics (75 percent), business intelligence (69 percent), AI and chatbots (68 percent) and biometric authentication (61 percent). Hyped technologies like blockchain/bitcoin and augmented reality aren’t as highly rated (24 percent and 12 percent respectively).
Mark Aldred added:
This study confirms how digital hubs and omnichannel banking are going to transform, rather than devastate, branch banking over the next three years. Banks want to understand and respond to their customers’ needs much more intelligently and faster across all channels including in-branch. So, alongside a rapid growth in advanced ATMs to deliver new digital hubs, the investment in data analytics is so critical especially where banks are looking to better understand and predict customer behaviours.
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