The Digital Banking Revolution

With more interaction comes more opportunity for selling.

For retail banks, this requires a dramatic shift in strategic focus from being a provider of financial products and services to rather being a provider of solutions. Banks cannot respond to these threats by simply being more technologically advanced or by reducing the number of branches they operate, but by rolling out better mobile and online banking services.

The digital transformation and its pace of change have been truly astounding, dramatically shifting customer behaviors and expectations of their financial service provider.

“The Digital Banking Revolution provides a unique take on the consumerization of retail banking services. It elucidates on how banks are facing increasing pressure from digital competitors, and how by recognizing these threats they can now go on the offensive by developing innovative technologies of their own.”

What banks need to do is first defend their position, but also to learn how to play a greater role, not just at the exact moment of the financial transaction but before and after it as well

For retail banks, this requires a dramatic shift in strategic focus from being a provider of financial products and services to rather being a provider of solutions

the Starbucks loyalty card handles nearly one-third of the company’s United States-based transactions

estpac’s initial goal in creating the app was to provide its customers with more control, and strategic insight into their finances. The bank had also realized that many people find personal financial management quite complex, and they decided to set themselves the aim of offering customers financial information that was not only visually pleasing but was presented in a fun way. This led to one of the most innovative features of Westpac’s - mobile bank app being developed, which is an augmented reality tool that assists their customers who want to find the nearest ATM/cash machine to them. How the technology works is by the user holding up their mobile phones camera wherever they located, and the app will then plot a navigation route for the user. Impressively this feature of the mobile bank app will even work internationally, when a user is attempting to source an ATM/cash machine in a foreign land.

The bank app also has quite a few more whizzy options including the ability to provide customers with details of the amount of loyalty points they have accrued with various businesses, as well as the ability for warning notifications to be set up to contact the user ahead of time with the specific number of days left until payment is due for a respective bill.

New Zealand one of the country’s largest retail banks - Westpac, has unveiled a dynamic mobile bank app which allows its customers to view their financial information by simply pointing their mobile phones camera at their bank card. If having already registered the bank card to the Westpac mobile banking app, then this technology would provide customers with the ability to receive account balance updates, a transaction history, and for other financial details to be displayed in clear and colorful 3D graphics.