In this day and time, we can’t live without technology, and this is a fact. And because nobody would expect the banking sector to be the exception here, over the past couple of years, we have witnessed huge developments that irremediably changed it. Of course, everything was changed for the good. Today, we can make transactions faster, we have forgotten about endless queues in brick-and-mortar banks, and we can sleep with the assurance our transactions and accounts are safer than ever before. But more in which banking was changed by technology, in the following paragraphs.
#1. The dawn of brick-and-mortar banks
We are living to see the last brick-and-mortar banks alive. And this is good news, for people who hate interacting with strangers. Although, in the past, people had to visit banks for all transactions and the inconvenience posed by this was huge, we don’t see this anymore today. Since 2008, when the first contactless cards came out, things have evolved a lot. Today, the banking apps and baking services developed for financial services are soon to replace traditional banks. They have found their main audience in the younger demographic, with a wide array of competitive and innovative services and products.
In most cases, these innovations surpass consumer expectations and help users meet their financial goals more easily. How?
- With competitive prices for essential goods;
- Better visibility and financial planning possibilities;
- Easy and fast money transfers.
In this age and time, going to the bank and paying huge transaction fees seems ridiculous, because of how competitive these fintech enterprises develop their products.
#2. No more endless queues
Older folks probably remember the hassle of having to make a payment before internet banking was a thing. Because banking institutions realized the hassle involved by making simple transactions and operations, they have started to research alternatives. We could guess that software companies near me was a frequently search phrase for a while, mainly because of banks’ interest in offering comfortable and convenient tools for their clients.
And, with the help of expert software developers, banks have started to make transactions handier and the endless queues, obsolete. Again, Fintechs have started to pose a huge threat with their products, services, and tools, but this only makes banking more competitive and convenient for the daily user.
#3. Increased security and data protection
Convenience is not the only advantage in the digitalized banking era. Security and data protection might be the biggest perks we enjoy today since the beginning of the digital revolution. Encrypted transactions, extra security, and privacy, these are all perks offered by financial technology establishments today.
Obviously, these companies gather a lot of data on their customers. They store and analyze this data for marketing, sales, determining credit worthiness purposes, and not only.
These players gather data like name, address, phone numbers, email address, date of birth, passwords, and PINs of your bank account details, social security number, and other financial records. You will be surprised to find out these companies have a good overview of your financial records and details like your rent, employment, salary, debt payments, and other data. All this information is sensitive for users and clients. But recently, these financial companies have started to take a better look at other aspects: online and social media behavior, online spending habits, how you use the Internet and even quite detailed psychological profiles.
But fear not, with increased volumes of user data, there comes extra protection in case of cybercrime. Your accounts and data are safer today than they were a decade ago. Fintech companies put incredible efforts in perfecting and improving their security protocols and procedures.
#4. New beginnings for customer support
There is some bad news for traditional banks. The area where they most frequently fail their clients gains terrain in customer’s buying decisions. According to this World Retail Banking Report from 2015, customer experience is on a continuous decline.
Apparently, customers today rely less and less on the information they receive in traditional banks in terms of financial products and services. When it comes to mortgages and investments, most choose to rely on their own research. This calls for more personalized customer support and service departments. Customers today expect tailored, personalized financial services. And, again, Fintech institutions are the ones that can meet this demand with success. By using gamification, a new tool to design behaviors, gain new skills, and enable innovation, these companies have created successful customer service departments. For clients that expect these operations to be carried online, gamification, together with virtual reality and virtual assistants are the answer they have been waiting for, for ages.
#5. Bigger competition and more opportunities
Because fintech players pose such a big competition for traditional financial institutions, banks have seen themselves forced to also give their services and products a competitive edge. After fintech companies have emerged, banks have seen themselves forced to adopt a more flexible attitude and adapt their aged processes to consumer demand. With a fresh image and more closeness to the end-user, fintech companies seem to focus on offering the best kind of services. Showing care and attention to the minutest aspects of consumers’ lives, these enterprises have a generally better image than their bigger brothers and sisters. Fintech apps and tools help consumers manage their finances with more ease, help them save money, and make smart financial decisions. They help users avoid huge transaction fees and forget about the hassle of having to make a payment and waiting for it until Monday morning. And banks will have to proceed the same if they want to remain relevant and attractive for the wide consumer.
These are only some of the ways in which financial players have been changed beyond repair, and these are only ways that profit the end user. Clients can now enjoy all the perks and conveniences they have hoped for, for decades, all at the tip of their fingers. Digitalization, software development, and virtual reality have made a huge change when it comes to banking and financial services.
