Future of Banks for a Post-COVID-19 World
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused most banks to accelerate their digitalization initiatives. The recession in 2008 caused an increase in a wave of fintech start-ups, an appetite for experimentation, and financial technology innovation. Similarly, the current crisis is driving the urge of banks to deliver real change.
Upcoming banks can be shaped by taking heed from the digitalization initiatives of industries including consumer-packaged goods, retail, and manufacturing. Across these industries, there has been an increased focus on innovations related to technology such as digital ecosystem plays, secure video interactions, gamification, hyper-personalization, social virtual reality, augmented reality, AI-powered chatbots, and voice as a channel among others. However, physical branch networks of banks are still challenging to be shifted to online mediums.
While holding the final source that a significant population heads towards for cash, banks also hold the prestige, historical, and cultural value for communities. These typically consist of the mainstay of local economies and small businesses. In the post-COVID-19 era, banks need to be completely reshaped, to retain their link with communities as well as their prestige.
New banks in the post-COVID-19 world, need to break out of the traditional branch model, and concentrate more on experiences, physical interactions, and deliver high-value services that complement the digital core of banking. New and existing banks should leverage digital technologies to augment physical experiences and make services more secure, faster, and convenient. For banks, this can form the true essence of a combined strategy including the physical and digital worlds.
In the post-COVID-19 world, consumers will be extremely cautious regarding how they opt to spend their time interacting. Banks and their branches, which are already a low-priority destination for a majority of people, might struggle to grab hold of a share of customer’s time.
