Strategies leveraging technology to increase deposits and enhance effectiveness:
In the April Executive Report titled "Growing quality deposits and customer acquisition," a strategic, multi-faceted approach to technology adoption is highlighted as a key differentiator for financial institutions aiming to enhance customer experience, streamline operations, and boost efficiency. This approach, designed to support long-term growth and evolving customer needs, can revolutionise the banking and credit union sector in 2025 and beyond.
One of the primary strategies involves developing a strategic technology roadmap that aligns IT investments with business goals. This ensures technology adoption supports long-term growth and evolving customer needs.
Another crucial aspect is modernising IT infrastructure with cloud and automation. Transitioning legacy systems to cloud computing platforms improves scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency. Cloud adoption, despite its complexity in financial services, reduces operational expenses and accelerates service deployment, making processes up to 40% faster while lowering IT costs by about 15%.
Embracing agile methodologies and automation can also speed up software development cycles, enabling banks to quickly respond to customer demands. Automation and intelligent document processing can modernise workflows, reducing manual work and errors, improving operational efficiency by offering real-time fraud detection and automated decisioning for account approvals.
Leveraging advanced technologies for customer experience is another essential component. Mobile banking apps with biometric authentication enable secure, convenient transactions anytime, increasing customer engagement. Voice-activated banking and open banking APIs create seamless, personalised multi-service access in one interface. Data analytics enable personalised financial services like tailored loans, improving satisfaction and deposit growth. Blockchain enhances transaction transparency and security, boosting customer trust.
Implementing automated and paperless deposit operations is another critical step. End-to-end automated deposit workflows, including data capture, customer verification, decisioning, document generation, e-signatures, and funding, accelerate account opening while maintaining compliance. Automated filters and workflow routing ensure staff focus only on exceptions, speeding processing and boosting productivity. Paperless processes reduce manual errors and improve customer onboarding speed.
Collaboration with fintechs and use of RegTech for compliance are also vital. Partnerships with fintech startups accelerate innovation and expand service offerings. RegTech solutions help ensure regulatory compliance, streamline reporting, and mitigate risks without compromising operational agility.
Investing in talent and security is equally important. Upskilling existing staff or hiring talent skilled in cloud, AI, and cybersecurity ensures successful tech adoption. Addressing security concerns upfront, especially around cloud and AI, protects customer data and maintains trust.
By integrating these strategies, financial institutions can create a seamless omnichannel experience, streamline internal operations, and increase customer acquisition and deposit retention through faster, secure, and personalised banking services. Fraud control and blocking out bad actors are non-negotiable elements of this strategy.
Cross-selling during onboarding can increase the lifetime value of each account holder, while digital technology is crucial for SMB account opening in banks and credit unions, matching the speed and efficiency of fintechs and megabanks. A challenge in online account opening processes is creating friction, leading to high abandonment rates. However, leveraging technology can seamlessly integrate tailored cross-sell offers into the customer onboarding process, enhancing engagement and maximising wallet share.
A digital-only brand can enable banks and credit unions to tap into national markets and niche segments, without relying solely on physical branches. Institutions that excel use technology to empower employees, streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and boost efficiency. Modernising the account opening process with paperless document collection, automated KYC and KYB, and upgraded workflows can enhance branch operations. Streamlined account opening technology can optimise the user experience, reducing friction and increasing application conversion rates.
The goal for SMB account opening technology should be a 5-minute process with under 20% manual review. Grasshopper Bank offers an industry-leading account opening experience for business owners and back-office operations. Rising Bank's digital-first approach has achieved the same deposit growth as building 10 new branches.
In conclusion, the competitive financial landscape is marked by historically high interest rates. Embracing technology is no longer an option but a necessity for financial institutions aiming to thrive in the future. Institutions that successfully implement these strategies will reap the benefits of increased efficiency, improved customer experiences, and enhanced growth opportunities.
- To sustain long-term growth and cater to evolving customer needs, a strategic technology roadmap is developed that aligns IT investments with business goals, ensuring technology adoption supports the business.
- Embracing automation, alongside intelligent document processing, can modernize workflows, reducing manual work, errors, and improving operational efficiency by offering real-time fraud detection and automated decisioning for account approvals.
- Cross-selling during onboarding can increase the lifetime value of each account holder, and digital technology is crucial for SMB account opening in banks and credit unions, matching the speed and efficiency of fintechs and megabanks.
