Innovative Strategies in Financial Services Marketing

Table of Contents

  • Introduction to Financial Services Marketing
  • The Role of Behavioral and Transactional Analytics
  • Case Studies: Success Stories in Financial Services Marketing
  • Digital Experiences and Customer Loyalty
  • Targeted Marketing Strategies: Reaching the Right Audience
  • Building Trust through Effective Marketing Campaigns
  • The Importance of Quality Data in Marketing Decisions
  • Conclusion: Key Takeaways for Financial Marketing Managers

 

Introduction to Financial Services Marketing

In the fast-paced world of financial services, the landscape of marketing is continually evolving. With the advent of digital transformation, marketing in this sector has transcended traditional boundaries, paving the way for more innovative and effective strategies. Financial institutions are now focusing on leveraging new technologies and data analytics to better understand and meet customer needs. Insight Financial Marketing (IFM) is at the forefront of this revolution, empowering data scientists, product managers, IT, and marketing teams with robust, cost-effective solutions. These solutions enable a deeper understanding of customer behavior, leading to more efficient business growth.

The role of marketing in financial services is multifaceted. It involves not only promoting various financial products but also educating consumers about their benefits. Marketing managers and directors are tasked with developing strategies that are both cost-effective and aligned with the goals of different business lines. This includes navigating the challenges of promoting high-priority products like business loans and treasury management products while also finding innovative ways to market other offerings like digital access products and wealth management services.

The Role of Behavioral and Transactional Analytics

Behavioral and transactional analytics are changing the game in financial services marketing. These analytics provide insights into customer behaviors, preferences, and patterns, which are crucial for tailoring marketing strategies. By analyzing customer transaction data, financial institutions can identify trends, predict customer needs, and create personalized offers that resonate with their target audience. This approach is significantly more effective than traditional marketing techniques, as it allows for a deeper connection with potential and existing customers.

For instance, transactional data can reveal which financial products a customer is most likely to be interested in, based on their spending and payment activity. This data-driven approach not only increases the effectiveness of marketing campaigns but also enhances the overall customer experience, leading to higher satisfaction and loyalty.

 

IDENTIFY LEADS THROUGH TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS

 

Case Studies: Success Stories in Financial Services Marketing

Case studies from leading financial institutions serve as powerful testimonials to the success of innovative marketing strategies. For example, a national bank implemented a targeted marketing campaign using behavioral analytics to identify potential customers for its new credit card product. By analyzing spending patterns and lifestyle preferences, the bank was able to create personalized offers that resulted in a significant increase in credit card applications and customer engagement.

Another success story comes from a regional bank that utilized transactional analytics to promote its home equity loans. By identifying customers who were likely to be in the market for home renovations, the bank tailored its marketing messages to highlight the benefits of its loan products, resulting in increased loan applications and customer satisfaction.

Targeted Marketing Strategies: Reaching the Right Audience

The success of marketing in financial services largely depends on targeting the right audience with the right message. This involves a deep understanding of the market and the specific needs of different customer segments. Financial products vary greatly in their appeal and utility to different customer groups, and as such, require tailored marketing approaches.

For example, marketing campaigns for business checking accounts would differ significantly from those for wealth management services. The former might focus on which consumer clients are conducting business related transactions from their retail or consumer account, while the latter would emphasize the expertise and personalized advice offered by the bank’s wealth management team to clients that have investment relationships with competitors. By segmenting the audience and tailoring the message accordingly, financial services companies can effectively reach and engage with their target customers.

The Importance of Quality Data in Marketing Decisions

In financial services marketing, the quality of data used in decision-making can significantly impact the effectiveness of campaigns. High-quality, accurate data allows for targeting precision, better customer insights, and improved campaign performance. For instance, automated clearing house transactions (ACH) can provide a wealth of insights into customer behavior and preferences.

Despite its potential, ACH data is often underutilized in financial marketing. Many marketing directors may not fully understand how to leverage this data, or they may be under the impression that they already have access to similar information. However, when utilized effectively, ACH data can offer a unique and valuable perspective, helping financial institutions to identify new opportunities for customer engagement and product promotion.

Conclusion: Key Takeaways for Financial Marketing Managers

For marketing managers and directors in the financial services sector, embracing innovative marketing strategies is key to staying competitive. The integration of behavioral and transactional analytics offers a deeper understanding of customer needs and preferences, enabling more personalized and effective marketing campaigns. 

Targeted marketing strategies are essential for deepening engagement with existing customers and maximizing the impact of marketing efforts. Moreover, the importance of quality data in shaping marketing decisions cannot be overstated. Leveraging unique data sources like ACH data an provide invaluable insights, leading to more successful marketing outcomes.

In conclusion, financial services marketing is a dynamic and evolving field. By staying abreast of the latest trends, leveraging technology and data analytics, and focusing on customer-centric strategies, marketing managers and directors can effectively drive growth and success in their institutions. Partners like Insight Financial Marketing (IFM) play a pivotal role in this journey, offering the tools and insights necessary to navigate the complex landscape of financial services marketing.

For more information on how IFM can assist your bank in leveraging customer behavior analysis to its fullest potential, contact us today. Begin the journey to a more insightful customer-focused marketing strategy.

 

Contact IFM

 

/by

How To Use Customer Behavior Analysis in Banking

The banking sector faces a myriad of challenges and opportunities in today’s digital age. Customers are more informed, demanding, and have more choices than ever before. In this competitive and complex environment, banks need to find innovative ways to stand out and meet customer expectations. Insight Financial Marketing (IFM), with its unparalleled expertise in transactional and behavioral analytics, highlights the critical role of customer behavior analysis in achieving these goals. By understanding the nuances of how customers interact with financial products and services, banks can tailor their offerings, improve customer satisfaction, and secure a competitive edge.

Understanding Customer Behavior Analysis

At its core, customer behavior analysis is the meticulous study of customer data to discern patterns, preferences, and tendencies. This analysis spans the entire spectrum of interactions a customer has with a bank, including transaction history, product usage, channel preferences, and responsiveness to marketing initiatives. The goal is to build a comprehensive understanding of the customer that goes beyond superficial metrics, enabling banks to anticipate needs, personalize communication, and ultimately, forge stronger customer relationships.

The Significance of Customer Behavior Analysis in Banking

Customer behavior analysis serves as a linchpin in the banking sector’s shift towards customer-centricity. By delving into the rich data banks already possess, financial institutions can uncover actionable insights that drive strategic decision-making. Whether it’s identifying emerging trends, tailoring financial products, or enhancing customer service, the implications of customer behavior analysis extend across all facets of banking. Moreover, in an era where regulatory compliance and risk management are paramount, understanding customer behavior aids in detecting fraudulent activities and managing credit risks more effectively.

Key Strategies for Implementation

Identifying Customer Segments

Segmentation involves classifying the bank’s diverse customer base into manageable groups with similar behaviors, needs, or characteristics. Advanced analytics and machine learning techniques can enhance segmentation, allowing for dynamic and nuanced categorizations that reflect the real-time financial landscape.

Analyzing Customer Interactions

This strategy entails a comprehensive analysis of customer touchpoints and interactions across all channels. By leveraging data from digital platforms, call centers, and in-person interactions, banks can gain insights into customer preferences and pain points, guiding the optimization of service delivery.

Leveraging Behavioral Data for Marketing Strategies

Behavioral data is a goldmine for crafting personalized marketing campaigns. By understanding the specific needs and behaviors of different segments, banks can design targeted offers that resonate with customers, thereby improving engagement and conversion rates.

Enhancing Customer Journey Maps

Customer journey mapping, enriched with behavioral insights, provides a visual representation of the customer’s experience from initial contact through to long-term loyalty. This tool helps banks identify critical moments of truth and opportunities to delight customers or address pain points effectively.

Benefits of Customer Behavior Analysis

The benefits of customer behavior analysis in banking are multifaceted. Beyond enhancing the customer experience and loyalty, it also contributes to operational efficiencies, cost reduction, and revenue growth. By aligning products and services with customer expectations, banks can improve satisfaction levels, reduce churn, and foster a culture of trust and transparency. Furthermore, customer behavior analysis facilitates better risk management by enabling more accurate credit assessments and fraud detection.

Challenges and Solutions in Customer Behavior Analysis

Adopting analysis of customer behavior is not without its challenges. Issues such as data privacy, data silos, and the need for sophisticated analytical skills can hinder implementation. Overcoming these obstacles requires a strategic approach, including investing in privacy-compliant data management practices, fostering cross-departmental collaboration, and building or acquiring advanced analytics capabilities.

Embracing Behavior Analysis In Financial Services

Embracing customer behavior analysis is imperative for banks aiming to thrive in the digital age. IFM stands ready to support financial institutions in this endeavor, offering the expertise and tools necessary to unlock the full potential of customer insights. By partnering with IFM, banks can embark on a journey towards more personalized, efficient, and secure banking services.

Banks and financial institutions are encouraged to consider customer behavior analysis not as an optional enhancement but as a fundamental component of their strategic planning. The insights derived from analyzing customer behavior can inform every decision, from product development to customer service, setting the stage for sustained success in a rapidly evolving market.

In conclusion, the integration of customer behavior analysis in banking operations is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Financial institutions that prioritize understanding their customers at a granular level will be best positioned to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of the 21st century.

For more information on how IFM can assist your bank in leveraging customer behavior analysis to its fullest potential, contact us today. Begin the journey to a more insightful, customer-focused banking experience.

 

A Quick Guide To Bank Deposit Growth
Contact IFM

 

/by

Revive Your Customer Relationships

How many of your customers are flirting with competitors by moving their deposits or opening credit elsewhere?

A recent headline from the popular financial services industry publication, The Financial Brand, “Memo to Bankers: Your Customers Are Cheating on You”, insightfully states “Even though your customers haven’t closed their account, they might be well beyond flirting with your rivals. What’s your plan to revive the relationship?” According to the article, this is happening at an increasing rate.

So, what is your FI’s plan to “revive customer relationships”? How can IFM help your financial institution gain clarity on this issue?

 

See How We Help Financial Institutions Deepen Their Relationships With Customers

 

Understand The Changes In Customer’s Finances Through Data

IFM offers solutions to help your financial institution (FI) understand the changes in your customers’ financial situation.

  1. Identify your customers who have initiated new relationships with a competing bank or investment firm before deposits are moved out
  2. Identify your customers using your financial institution as an intermediary with other competing financial institutions by maintaining low deposit balances and high outflows
  3. Identify your customers with degrading primacy profiles

The solutions at Insight Financial Marketing (IFM) are market tested and can help your institution identify customer relationships to revive. Understanding when your customers have moments in their lives that matter, and that require key financial decisions to be made, can help your institution revive the relationship by presenting financial insights, product information, and rate offers that are timely and relevant to the customer.

 

IFM Helps Financial Institutions With Behavioral Analysis & Event Detection

To find out more about our strategy and the tools IFM can deploy to help your institution revive your customer relationships, contact Rob Reale directly at [email protected] or communicate with us via our website at www.infimark.com.

 

Contact IFM
A Quick Guide To Bank Deposit Growth
/by

Walmart Bank: Checking Accounts At Walmart?

The Walmart Bank

As if technology giants like Apple and Google weren’t enough competition for the nearly five thousand banks and thousands of credit unions in the United States, Walmart plans to launch a “checking account” of its own. There has been much speculation over the years regarding Walmart entering the financial services industry and in many ways, this has already happened with the various financial services offered to its customers through partnerships.  These include money transfers, pre-paid debit cards, and the ability to cash checks at stores across the U.S.

What does this mean for traditional brick-and-mortar banks and credit unions?

Walmart is the largest private employer in the United States with 1.6 million employees.  It also has nearly 4,700 stores across the country.  In launching a checking account that would likely be attractive to many of its employees, One,– the fintech company Walmart is working with that will deliver the new services, will instantly become one of the largest banks in the US.

How can IFM help?

Customer retention and mitigating deposit outflows in a time of rising interest rates are top of mind for traditional financial institutions in the US today.  IFM’s services provide the means for an FI to detect changes in their customers’ financial behavior, which is important for financial institutions to know and understand.  With that understanding, appropriate strategies and marketing outreach can be developed and deployed that will deepen relationships with existing customers and retain and grow their deposits.

For additional information about how IFM can help you identify customers that may be early adopters of Walmart’s new financial services company, and to learn about other deposit retention and growth strategies, contact IFM at our website, www.infimark.com, or communicate with me directly at [email protected].

 

Contact IFM
A Quick Guide To Bank Deposit Growth
/by

What Does Personalization In Financial Services Mean?

Recent studies showed that 52% of consumers expect their offers to be personalized, and 62% want firms to anticipate their needs. This is excellent news for financial institutions who are looking to leverage innovative approaches to understanding their clients better while deepening their engagement.

Now is the time for your FI to gain a competitive advantage by capitalizing on the power of personalization by offering a more user-centric and solutions-based experience for your customers.

To do that, though, you have to understand the power of personalization. Let’s discuss the concept in more detail.

Personalization in Financial Services

Personalization in financial services focuses on transforming a firm’s customer interactions using data and analytics to anticipate individual needs and build deeper relationships.

It is not all about selling, but providing information about the FI’s products and services on a regularly occurring basis.  By doing so a financial institution can transform itself into the go to source for a consumer or business’s financial needs.  This strategy demands recursive learning, a 360-degree view of customers, and a personalized curriculum intended to change customers’ behavior and attitude.

Numerous firms have shown how personalization is vital. Netflix, for instance, uses personalization techniques to provide movies and TV show recommendations. Starbucks uses digital partnerships and technologies to build relationships with millions of consumers across its 7,000 stores.

That said, while most FI’s are significantly investing in their data and analytics capabilities, the “Netflix of banking” has not yet emerged. The primary reason is that real end-to-end personalization means deploying data science capabilities that utilize clean and accurately categorized transaction data delivered daily.

Eventually, if done perfectly, personalization can offer a direct route to reduced customer churn rates and higher sales. It can lead to yearly revenue uplifts of up to 10% for financial service firms. It will enable firms to truly understand their clients, anticipate their needs, and engage in rich dialogues about their financial capabilities, fostering loyalty that lasts a lifetime.

 

A Quick Guide To Bank Deposit Growth

 

What Are the Perks of Personalization?

Here are some of the benefits of personalization:

  • Studies estimate that for every $100 billion in assets a financial institution offers, it can achieve over $300 million in revenue growth by personalizing customer interactions.
  • Personalization also helps drive sales communication, even though these might not be the most frequent interactions. Some financial service firms have used personalization to boost branch sales productivity by over 30%, while others have seen an increase in revenues by 20% in three years.

Examples of How Financial Service Firms Can Deliver Personalization

Three core elements form the foundation of banking personalization at scale:

  • Analytic Engine & Recursive Learning – by using systematic experimentation, financial institutions allow flexibility and create tailored offers that evolve with time. The recursive learning ability needed for personalization constitutes a built-in advantage for individuals who leverage it first
  • Consumer DNA – bank systems need to feed a single, enterprise-wide view of every consumer—a view that systematically reflects every customer at any given time
  • Personalized Curriculum – consumer offerings are customized to one segment. They define desired consumer behaviors and strategize on how best to incentivize those behaviors

Final Thoughts

Financial institutions today are not just competing against each other but against technological powerhouses that harness data to their advantage. To keep up with the changing environment, FI’s have to revamp their approach to serve their customers at a personal level.

With proper personalization, FI’s can decrease friction in their customer journey and attain higher engagement.

For the past 20 years, Insight Financial Marketing, L.L.C., has provided financial institutions with customer insights from the analysis of customer financial transactions such as ACH, debit card, credit card, and wire data.  These insights are typically leveraged to help deepen relationships with consumer and business customers.

With IFM’s data analysis sophistication, financial institutions can better understand the unique changes in their customers’ financial lives as they happen to enable the financial institution to enhance marketing messaging resulting in outreach that is well received by their customers.

 

Contact IFM

 

/by

Alternative Data is on the “Rise™”

Credit Bureaus have been a bedrock of the financial services industry for decades.  Their insights on a consumer’s creditworthiness and willingness to repay a loan have proved their value a hundred-fold over the past 50 years. However, their ability to measure the creditworthiness of all persons is limited due to various reasons from the lack of reporting to the bureaus to the rapidly changing ways consumers conduct payments and other financial transactions and the explosion of non-traditional financial organizations.

A combination of innovation, technology, and immigration patterns and processes have changed how many in the United States are employed and receive income.  Over the past few decades, these changes have left many consumers unable to get the crucial capital needed to buy homes and get approved for loans or credit, regardless of their steady income and consistent payment history for lifestyle-related expenses.

Alternative Data For Credit Decisioning

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) held a hearing in 2017 to review the use of alternative data for credit decisioning.  The CFPB recognized the traditional system for reporting consumer credit included lending categories where the credit is provided by banks and financial companies that have mechanisms in place for record-keeping.  By that definition, this excludes rent payment activity, which is a major payment area for millions of consumers across the United States.  Learn more about the outcome of the CFPB hearing here.

The CFPB also recognized that alternative data would help to expand credit opportunities to consumers with little to no credit history.  By leveraging alternative data, FI’s would create a broader financial profile on their customers through the combination of both traditional and non-traditional data sources including ACH, Debit/Credit cards, mobile phones, and the internet resulting in an improvement of creditworthiness reporting and accuracy.

Rise™ Provides Insight Into Non-Traditional Financial Data

Rise™ is an example of a new product by IFM that provides insight to non-traditional categories of financial activities helping FI’s to paint the clearer picture they have been looking for on consumer customers that may otherwise have fallen out of their lending radar.  Rise™ reports on the customer’s various sources of income and the consistency of payments for debt categories including rent, utilities, membership payments, subscription payments, and more.  In essence, Rise™ makes it easier for FI’s to receive intelligence about their customers without having to manage multiple large data sources or the categorization and reporting accuracy of their financial behavior.

To learn more about Rise, a new component of IFM’s Candela™ service, you can communicate with me directly at [email protected].

About IFM

For the past 20 years, Insight Financial Marketing, L.L.C., has provided financial institutions with customer insights from the analysis of customer financial transactions such as ACH, debit card, credit card, and wire data.  These insights are typically leveraged to help deepen relationships with consumer and business customers and to strengthen customer insights that are ingested into data environments that are then leveraged throughout their enterprise.  IFM solely analyzes an FI’s data and returns customer insights back to the FI client.  IFM also complies fully with bank customer privacy policies which enable FI’s to develop products and services, using IFM data, that be launched across their customer base.

Contact IFM
/by

New Competition For Traditional Banks Serving Small Business

As the U.S. economy slowly emerges from the impacts of COVID-19, many individuals are re-opening their small businesses, others have left corporate jobs to start businesses, and many recently retired baby boomers started micro-businesses as a way to help supplement retirement income.

For traditional financial institutions, there are many opportunities to become the primary bank for these small businesses.  Traditional financial institutions are readily equipped to service these small businesses with checking accounts, credit cards, business loans, and merchant services.  However, the payment landscape is continually changing with modern technologies and new competitors are working to attract more of the traditional banking relationship of these small businesses.  

The Changing Payments Landscape

An example of a company changing the payments landscape is called Ayden, which was highlighted in a recent article by Fortune.  Ayden is a payment company based in Amsterdam that allows businesses to accept e-commerce, mobile, and point-of-sale payments.  The value proposition of the company is that they can make payments choices easy for merchants by providing a full end-to-end solution, managing the entire payment flow from checkout through to final settlement.  A single platform that is a payment gateway, risk management system, and acquirer rolled into one is an alternative to the payment processing offered by many legacy banks that still use disparate tech that was developed as far back as the 1980s.

 

Traditional vs Ayden Payment Platform

 

Ayden is expanding beyond its payments business to specifically target bank services to small businesses that operate on Ebay, Etsy, and AirBNB.  Adyen has grown its payments business by 70% in 2021 and is looking to continue its rapid growth.

The Fortune article also mentions Block (formerly Square) and Stripe are also providing banking services to small businesses.  The primary difference between Block and Stripe is that Stripe is best suited for e-Commerce while Block is a specialist for in-person transactions.  Regardless of the platform, there is a lot of information for small business owners to consider before identifying which solution can best meet their needs.

Small business owners getting started in the post-COVID economy are presented with a jaw-dropping number of options to accept payments into their business.  Innovators such as Ayden, Block, and Stripe are enabling businesses to gain access to hundreds of payment methods and many different currencies to help them streamline operations, reduce costs, and optimize results.

Understanding the rapid change in the payments space is critical to enabling an effective strategy to grow and retain your relationships with existing customers. Financial technology firms and non-traditional financial services firms are providing more products and services that encroach on traditional FI’s core business banking relationships. IFM can provide deep insight into your business customer’s external relationships (merchant services, lending, credit cards, etc.) and assist with leveraging this insight to identify opportunities to deepen relationships with your existing customers.

To learn more about IFM’s strategy and analytical capabilities you can communicate directly with me at [email protected], or visit our website at www.infimark.com.

 

Contact IFM

 

A Quick Guide To Bank Deposit Growth

 

/by

Personalized Marketing to Bank Customers

Right now, the transactional profile of a consumer checking customer at financial institutions across the US is likely to include a P2P account with either PayPal or CashApp and a newly established Coinbase account as customers’ education and investment in cryptocurrency continues to grow.  They are making regular monthly payments to a SoFi student loan, Rocket Mortgage, or Prosper personal loan, many are using their Apple credit card, and are regularly adding and storing money onto their Starbucks or Dunkin apps.  From a small business customer perspective, many are using QuickBooks for their accounting and payroll, using Square’s merchant services, or have a small business loan from PayPal or American Express.

 

A Quick Guide To Bank Deposit Growth

 

As consumers and businesses have rapidly adopted app-based financial tools and services, many-core transactions are conducted with competing institutions.  Given these customer scenarios, how will your financial institution (FI) grow loans, prevent customer attrition, and maximize profitability?  Can your bank’s strategy compete in today’s digital and fast-changing world? 

Regardless of the geographic area your traditional bank or credit union serves, these might be the profiles of many of your consumer and business checking customers.  Understanding what attracted them to engage with competitors is paramount to the development of a strategy to win them back.  Proactive strategies that include identifying the changes in your customers’ financial behavior, life events, and lifestyle changes, on a daily basis, can effectively provide your FI with the insight to help implement a direct, specialized, and personalized experience for customers that will in effect strengthen their relationship with your FI instead of continuing to send them to the competition.  

For 20 years, IFM (Insight Financial Marketing LLC) has worked with financial institutions of all sizes across the US to provide cutting-edge data science technology to financial services firms.  IFM’s data tools offer an industry-leading customer intelligence solution that enables personalized communication with your FI’s consumer and business customers.  

If you’re interested in learning how your FI can leverage daily customer intelligence, data, marketing tools, and strategic guidance to compete more effectively today and in the future, we invite you to communicate with us directly at our website www.infimark.com or contact me at [email protected]. 

 

Contact IFM
/by

[Webinar] Outlook for the Future – Bank Strategy During COVID and Beyond

,

Bank Strategy During COVID

 

In 2020, At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Insight Financial Marketing held a webinar titled, Outlook for the Future: Bank Strategy During COVID-19 and Beyond. From our discussion, it was clear how big of a role technology played in economic recovery.  We also saw banks receive increased deposit balances, as CARES Act-related assistance was disbursed to consumers and businesses.

This year we felt it was only fitting to share an update regarding the same topic, looking at bank strategy amidst the continuing impact of the pandemic and beyond.

In the presentation, we put a spotlight on three topics:

  • The pandemic’s impact on the economy and the Financial Service Industry
  • The continuous impact technology has on the Financial Service Industry
  • Actions needed for Traditional Financial Institutions to survive the future business environment

 

A Quick Guide To Bank Deposit Growth

 

COVID Impact Review

In 2020, we saw businesses close their physical offices, reopen, and for some, shut them down again. Moreover, Financial Institutions supported small businesses by rolling out PPP loans and enhanced Federal Stimulus payments quickly to help cushion these companies from the unprecedented shocks of COVID-19.

According to the Deloitte Economic Spotlight, in May 2021, there were 7.1 million fewer people in the labor force this year as opposed to February 2020. Deloitte further adds that the pandemic significantly affected employees in low-wage occupations by 5.4% compared to the higher-wage populations, which stood at 2%.

We also highlighted COVID’s impact on lending. The most notable change was the decreased rates in mortgage interests in 2020. And as of October 2021, there was a seasonal slowdown, specifically in the real estate market.

Investors Reaction to COVID-19

A review of the Nasdaq, Dow Jones, and S&P 500 indexes shows the pandemic led to a dramatic lagging of the financial market at the onset. However, in 2021, due to the multiple Federal Stimulus packages that were rolled out, the markets recovered and have increased significantly.

Outlook for the Future: How the Changing Economy Will Affect Bank Strategy and the Financial Services Industry
As for the future of retail banking, data shows that:

  • There might be an uptick in interest rates in 2022/23.
  • Due to the success of the economic assistance programs, there is an increase in the money supply.
  • Fintech and technology firms will transform how money moves.
  • As we move forward, the top 2 traditional banks will continue exerting competitive pressure.
  • Outlook for the Future: How the Changing Economy Will Affect the Financial Services Industry
  • We also discussed the changes occurring in the financial services industry, influenced by technological solutions.

FinTech companies continue to succeed because of their customized solutions that meet business and consumer needs. For instance, American Express recently established a digital business checking account for SMBs.

Decentralized finance is becoming more popular—owing to its ability to meet specific needs. With blockchain, traditional areas like saving and investments will in the future not require middlemen such as brokerage firms.

FinTech companies have become more ‘bank-like.’ For instance, Venmo has grown its offerings to include services like debit and credit cards, traditionally bank services.

There’s an increasing rise in neo-digital banks that indicates the dynamic nature of consumer behavior.

As for cryptocurrency, the number of coins and wallets continues to grow. Moreover, the terminology and technology continue to change.

Outlook for the Future: Actions FI’s Need To Make To Survive the Future Business Environment

To close the presentation, we discussed the practical steps FI’s needed to take to enable their future success and survival. First, FI’s will need to identify their value proposition. Traditionally the focus has been on financial products and services that meet customers’ desires.

However, with the advancement in technology, we’ve seen a shift in customer demands. For instance, people now expect instant solutions. And as a result, the traditional face-to-face approach is less favorable, especially from a COVID-19 standpoint. Additionally, more people want to perform basic transactions online, as it is more convenient.

Secondly, analyze your FI’s competitive edge. Once you’ve figured this out, work on implementing strategies to improve the customer experience further. Remember, while technology is the future, we certainly can’t ignore the power of good customer relationships.

Finally, your institution’s ability to stay updated on behavioral trends and lifestyle changes will provide the required customer insights that will increase your competitive edge. From payments to money transfers, leveraging data on consumers’ financial activities coupled with new technology is the most straightforward bank strategy that will deliver continued success and survival.

Contact us today to take advantage of our free, no-obligation evaluation offer to get a first-hand view of your consumer and business customers. To learn more, visit us on our website at www.infimark.com.

Contact IFM

 

Bank Strategy During COVID

 

/by

Financial Institutions Move to Digital – What’s Next?

,

Financial Institutions & Digital Capabilities

Financial Institutions have moved swiftly to enable more digital functionality. This effort has taken on many different paths. For some, the move has been to offer a combination of the following: BaaS, Open Banking, digital loan applications, a stand-alone digital bank, faster payments, access to cryptocurrencies, P2P functionality, electronic signatures, PFM, online and mobile app B2B capabilities. All this has been occurring, while at the same time, Big Tech, FinTech, and DeFi, have been launching new capabilities that target specific needs of consumers and businesses. Many traditional financial institutions have also developed partnerships and strategic alliances with Big Tech and FinTech firms or have invested in them directly.

 

A Quick Guide To Bank Deposit Growth

 

COVID is Driving A Shift In Behavior

The COVID crisis further amplified the need for consumers and businesses to conduct more of their financial lives online and through mobile apps. In many ways, the changes in our industry were a direct result of a shift in consumer and business preferences that have been a long time coming; a need to move money faster and with a delightfully easy experience. While consumers’ lives and business operations have not yet returned to “normal,” we have learned how to adapt to life with a deadly virus around us. This includes being more comfortable with conducting more of our financial lives virtually rather than in person.

What comes next?

From IFM’s view, we see changes in consumer and business behavior daily. As a result of more digital functionality, the amount of data has grown exponentially. Some FI’s have seen their digital transaction volumes grow more than 2x-3x faster than previous years. IFM works with many of the largest banks in the U.S. and smaller FI’s that have a critical role in their communities, and all are impacted by changes in consumer and business behavior.

The movement of money has never been faster and will only become faster still. To be competitive, FI’s must be at the top of their game when utilizing data insights and predicting future customer behavior. IFM has an industry-leading customer intelligence solution to help your FI communicate more efficiently, with direct personalized content, and keep you and your enterprise informed of future behavioral changes.

Contact us today to take advantage of our free, no-obligation evaluation offer to get a first-hand view of your consumer and business customers. To learn more, visit us on our website at www.infimark.com.

 

 

Contact IFM

 

 

/by