By Yael Warman
Douglas Engelbart, one of the early pioneers of computers and the internet, has said, “The digital revolution is far more significant than the invention of writing or even of printing.” Now whilst one may disagree with the extent to which he extols the virtues of the digital age, one would be hard pressed to disagree that the times in which we live are seeing some of the greatest upheavals to life in history. From online shopping to booking holidays, the digital age has changed the way we live our lives. In the banking and wealth management sectors, this revolution can also assist in your life.
In the words of Simon Mainwaring, Australian branding consultant, “Technology…placed such a comprehensive burden on business, employees and individuals to reinvent their business plans, services and products, and…to keep pace with the changing marketplace.” Experts estimate that a bank can benefit by up to 30% by attracting customers and transactions through new digital initiatives, and lose as much business by not adapting. Within the wider financial field, tools such as automation are changing the way in which the trader can react to real time events, by providing real time updates.
Technology in the Finance World
Within the banking sector, institutions have already ploughed significant funds into transaction migration, whereby customers have less and less need for a physical bank. As a result, online and app generated banking has grown enormously, and customers are able to carry out a large number of banking options online. In addition, banks and wealth management companies have also realized that it is to their benefit to take more radical steps, such as opening agile development opportunities, or hosting hackathons to foster intensive digital collaboration.
The sheer scale of the opportunities is vast. In China, Alibaba captured $100 billion in assets in the second year since its launch of a wealth management platform, and contactless-payment technology, first pioneered in the UK. The first contactless cards in the UK were issued by Barclaycard almost a decade ago, and there are almost 60 million contactless-enabled cards in circulation, with close to 150,000 terminals which accept their use.
Wealth Management
Free Reports:
In the wealth management world, there are two major areas in which customers can benefit from the digital revolution. Social trading is now being offered by a number of companies worldwide, which enables customers with a minimum investment to see what star investors are doing and even the ability to follow their lead. At the same time, without an updated customer interface, a company will struggle to attract customers who require high-level digital tools, so CRM software will allow managers to provide this for their customer base. Analytics are easily available, and customers can even benefit from custom-designed retirement tools.
The eToro OpenBook is a fairly typical example. It runs a live stream showing which traders are winning and which losing in real time, how often, even how much they’ve put up for the trade. The software won’t guarantee profitable investment of course, but it does open a door into some of the most successful retail investors in the world.
Mapping Your Digital Journey
Your digital journey should be compelling and highly differentiated, ensuring that speed and ease of use are available for all processes, including applying for loans, receiving assistance in using the digital options and most importantly for a bank, making payments. Your positive/negative experiences with a particular financial business could well have significant knock-on effects with regards to word of mouth recommendations. The pressure is firmly on them to ensure you stay loyal.
About the Author:
Yael Warman is a creative writer with a strong background in marketing and advertising. Yael has been a writer for over 10 years and has worked for clients in various industries as well as her own companies and is currently the Content Manager at Leverate.