Top 5 Banking Customer Experience Trends in 2024

Why Do Banks Improve Customer Experience?

The ability to predict what your clients want from your products sounds like magic, doesn't it? But we can't ignore the fact that digitalization has already transformed how we accept all the services.

Lockdowns, social isolation, and other restrictions have improved customer experience trends in all spheres: we take remote digital services for granted, and personalized customer experience was not created yesterday. Live chats, co-browsing, or video calls are common ways for financial institutions to deliver engaging and intuitive customer service.

According to J. D. Power Retail Banking Satisfaction Survey, the average NPS (Net Promoter Score) for retail banking experience increased by 60 points between April 2020 and April 2021. In J. D. Power, they believed that it was the result of the industry's hard work to deliver superior customer service as a response to new digital trends.

According to McKinsey, three out of four top 50 largest global banks are currently undergoing customer experience transformation.

The report by Forrester states that 85% of global banking decision-makers are committed to pursuing further digital transformation plans and customer experience improvements.

Meanwhile, clients want even more convenience, speed, and personalization from today's banking industry.

A CX Network’s research for the Global State of CX in Financial Services report found that in 2022, three key stats indicated that banking customers demanded more convenience:

• They are willing to spend more for it;
• They’re looking for self-service when dealing with financial institutions;
• They crave the convenience that digital services bring.

Users expect customer experience to be not just like a substitution for a human representative, but rather a smart consultant and advisor. We want more digital interaction with financial institutions that will empower us with innovative assistance of AI, machine learning, big data, and other technology.

What Is Good Customer Service in Banking in 2024?

So, let us try to understand what excellent customer service is from the perspective of 2024. Today, we expect our retail banking experience to deliver:

• integrated onboarding to all versions and products;
• smooth functionality for all systems and apps;
• communication channels available 24/7;
• prompt resolution of problems;
• proactive protection of personal data and finances;
• innovative technological solutions for improved service.

Moreover, superior customer experience hinges on services that exhibit the following characteristics:

• fast and easy — no matter how many advanced features your banking app offers, they must operate at the snap of a finger;
• transparent and personalized — today's banking customers are not silent witnesses of innovations today. They crave complete control over their financial data and seek upscale tools to craft their personalized customer journey;
• top secure — a banking customer journey through all products and services must comply with strict security requirements.

In essence, the perfect blend of innovation, tailored to meet consumer demands and expectations, lies at the core of delivering the finest banking customer experience today.

How Banks Satisfy Customers — Trends Revealed

Nevertheless, one more determining factor to mention is that since many banks offer commoditized products. The real differentiator lies in providing a superior customer experience.

According to BAI, banks and credit unions that offer improved customer experience are generally 60% more profitable than their competitors that are less focused on delivering innovative customer experience. However, only 9% of bankers defined their customer experience in banking delivery as excellent.

Needless to say, there is no universal solution for fulfill all customer needs. Markets, and even distinct market segments, exhibit significant variations. With this in mind, we’ve carefully selected the most intriguing trends that will empower financial institutions to foster customer loyalty in 2024.

Banking Applications for Everyone

One of the fastest-growing banking CX trends is providing customer self-service options via web and mobile applications for various types of devices and wearables. Among the main reasons why we choose a certain financial institution is its digital banking experience. Banks and credit unions without mobile customer engagement are at a heavy disadvantage as modern customers expect full access to their assets anywhere and anytime.

At the same time, mobile digital channels produce enormous amounts of financial data. This data takes banking services to the next level of customer experience. AI, machine learning algorithms, and smart analytics implementation help the banking industry create additional innovative solutions for customer satisfaction like consultative services for investments or money management roadmaps.

No wonder that it is a prevalent trend to improve customer satisfaction rankings by introducing or upgrading banking apps and their features.

Smart and Safe Onboarding

First impressions are essential for a positive customer experience from the very start. Previously, when dealing with sensitive customer data and financial information, traditional financial institutions required filling out tons of forms and documents during long visits to banks' branches.

Nevertheless, modern trends demonstrate the following common technological tendencies and the shift to implementing digital channels for all operational stages. And retail banking experience starts meeting customer demands for fast electronic onboarding by using new methods of biometric identification, blockchain, and smart verification.

So, financial institutions are working hard today to enable their customers with new approaches to enter essential onboarding data safely online and open new accounts right from the comfort of their own homes. At the same time, smart and safe onboarding helps banks comply with strict regulatory requirements and prevent fraud and cyberattacks.

Customer Experience with Artificial Intelligence

The advantage of using traditional banks' services comfortably at home at any time is great, huh? Meanwhile, it also brings the problem of building a robust customer support system.

It is so frustrating to be put on hold while trying to contact the bank’s helpline to report an issue! Moreover, the increasing volume of customer calls can become an avalanche for financial institutions' call centers and ruin customer loyalty. That fast-growing number of phone calls became incredibly challenging during recent disruptions and lockdowns. For example, when restrictions hit Europe in 2020, some banks had to cope with vast amounts of customer calls; their total volume increased by a factor of 20 to 30.

That is why financial service providers adopt multiple channels to stay connected with their clients. Implementing artificial intelligence technology is the ultimate solution for creating an innovative assistance system and increasing a positive customer experience in banking. In 2024, the most popular solution is implementing AI-powered chatbots.

Chatbots utilize information from the banks' databases or customer relationship management (CRM) profiles and immediately respond to customers’ requests. They can effectively resolve most routine issues and thus help create a positive customer journey.

Moreover, according to a recent study by AIMultiple, chatbots can save $0.50-$0.70 on each transaction, which is currently generating $20 million is savings globally. 

Integrated Advising Services

Forward-thinking financial institutions provide their clients with more than just deposits, transactions, and money management. In our harsh times, we seek consultative services to grow our money, and it is much more convenient and secure to have innovative advising assistance integrated into our banking applications.

So, that gives the banking industry of today the perfect opportunity for customer experience improvement and promotes sales of new financial products tailored to specific market segments and various target audiences. Customer experience programs of integrated advising can include cost savings recommendations, consultancy in investments, or roadmaps for effectively reaching financial goals.

With the advanced technology of CRM, banking service providers can safely collect and analyze clients' data to create a hyper-personalized banking experience for each client. All that helps ensure customer loyalty and build stronger customer relations.

Technologies for Proactive Engagement

There is also one more exciting point of advanced analytics — it improves the level of insight into banks' customers. Today, financial institutions implement new technology opportunities of AI, ML, neural networks, and big data to monitor their customers' economic health conditions.

They can proactively offer support with money management or cross-sell products to overcome possible difficulties and reach financial goals. Moreover, it puts customers on the quickest and most direct route to get things done. And such proactive engagement can be provided across multiple channels — in a banking app, over the phone, via messengers, and email.

We are sure that this trend of turning customer experience into involved customer science empowered by the latest tech will bring even more tools for smart budgeting and proactive engagement in 2024.

Key Ideas about Banking Customer Experience

We cannot but mention that it is impossible to make your clients stay loyal to your bank and attract new audiences only by introducing an exclusive ideal customer experience.

It is essential to focus on product innovations, personalization, and financial education of your clients. Here, convenient digital services, smart and safe onboarding, careful customer support, smart advising, and proactive engagement tools can vastly improve superior customer experience and become a competitive differentiator to your business.

If you have any questions regarding banking customer experience delivery, contact us for more details. Our banking and financial software development professionals can help create top-notch solutions to match your customers' needs.