Enabling Banks to Deliver Next – Gen Services on Handhelds
Reading Time: 4 minutesEfficiency and customer experience are key for Banks in today’s competitive market.
There was a time when banking was one of the most regulated sectors in the economy. That is no longer true in current times. Across the world, we are witnessing a growing competition among banks. Factors such as increased competition, demand for personalised services and financial innovation are contributing the changing financial market. Institutions that have the foresight to begin core transformations and technology upgrades reap the benefits of an increase in their market share enabled by responding to the market demands, embracing the latest technology. With an increasing focus on the customer experience and customer relationship management also will come a need to understand more about customers and the market, which will push business intelligence initiatives.
Banking today is no longer restricted to bank branches. A lot of banking activities are happening beyond the traditional spaces of banking. A lot of selling and servicing is done outside bank branches. Today, products (like cards, loans, mutual funds, insurances etc) are sold and serviced at dealer showrooms, in customer’s home or office.
These are exciting and challenging times in the global banking industry. Customers are redefining the agenda – excellent customer service has replaced financial stability as the primary reason for maintaining banking relationships. With the rapid development of mobile technology and large usage rates of mobile phones, customers’ expectations have risen significantly. Instant is the keyword here. Be it responses, decisions, information or options, today’s customers expect it immediately. Factors such as trust, perceived service quality, perceived customer value, including functional value and emotional value, contribute to generating customer satisfaction. In the face of evolving customer behaviour and expectations, it has become imperative for banks to listen and understand the voice of the customer as input in shaping their strategies. Starting with the advent of the ATM, followed by phone, Internet and mobile banking, the last couple of decades have been characterized by the emergence of anytime, anywhere banking. Nucleus Software’s product development strategy leverages technology as an enabler to enhance business value and operational experience for our customers.
Mobile devices are ideal channels for empowering sales and servicing teams on the street to deliver an instant service delivery experience to the customer. Banks are no longer looking at mobility as just another channel for banking services. With a sharp rise in smart phones and its increasing capability, mobility has already become a strategic channel for banking services. Mobility is set to take virtual banking to the next level with more customers using mobility for banking services and demanding more from mobility banking. Over past 3-5 years, mobility applications are getting transformed from tactical applications to enterprise applications. Banks are creating separate budgets for mobility banking. Clearly, mobility is here to stay.
Nucleus Software is working continuously with its customers across the globe to understand the diverse needs of their customers and provide robust solutions that empower banks to stay ahead of the curve. Nucleus Software’s robust portfolio of IT products and solutions in the global BFSI has been delivering value consistently over the last 27 years. Nucleus Software offers a unique blend of domain and technology expertise to define the future of global banking industry.
Of course, an intuitive self service experience for customers not only delivers instant service but also saves costs for Banks. A good example is the value delivered by Nucleus Software’s mobile product, mCollect which is aimed at enabling Collection Agents to execute their activities more efficiently while improving the overall customer experience. This is a part of the very recently launched mobility suite of products for its award winning lending solution, FinnOneTM. Agents who go door to door to follow-up/pickup payments can now view their daily plan on the mobile, view information regarding the customer, record payments received (intimating the bank instantly), printing a receipt on a Bluetooth printer. He is also empowered to service the customer beyond this since he can service all typical inquiries like balance inquiry, foreclosure simulation, earlier payment status. Not just that but on request, Agent can email the customer’s statement or tax certificate instantly. With our mCAS solution, credit decisions can be taken anywhere anytime by the Underwriter from his/her mobile. Decisions are not dependent on his availability at his desk. A strong IT backbone is key to ensuring that banks are able to serve its customers smoothly, anytime anywhere and that is exactly what IT Product players like Nucleus Software ensure.
The most important component of implementing the mobility solutions piece is the security aspect. Since most of the data is transferred over the air, security should be the topmost priority. Financial institutions in India have already come up with stringent security guidelines that are dovetailed with the ones released by RBI and hence help the institutions practise the concept of a high level of security with respect to the mobile applications. For instance, most mobile applications are mapped with the handsets; a loss of the handset and subsequent deployment on a new handset requires a full registration again – as a security measure. The rapid expansion of this concept among the Banks and NBFCs is steadily growing. Just like internet banking, customers may take some time to adapt to the concept but will eventually be buoyed by the convenience it offers and hence will only be motivated to undergo stringent security checks to unleash the power of the mobility services offered by their banks.
References: The original article is published in PCQuest.