In today’s increasingly customer-centric banking world, financial institutions seeking to build long-term, profitable relationships can reap significant benefits from providing positive experiences that keep customers happy and loyal.

Conversely, with consumers enjoying an unprecedented array of financial service providers to choose from, and increasingly able to switch between providers, banks that cling to a “take it or leave it” attitude with respect to customer experiences will quickly discover that their customers will choose the latter.

3 Priorities for FIs as Banking Transforms in 2024

But how do banks go about conceiving, designing and implementing the exceptional customer experiences it takes to maintain market share in the increasingly fragmented financial services landscape – especially when many Brazilian banks are dealing with legacy systems and outdated infrastructure?

To help guide local FIs in addressing this critical question, Galileo Financial Technologies has put together four key principles to keep in mind. Read on to learn more:

1. Think customers–not fees

Charges for Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) can add up quickly for customers–meaning, yes, increased revenue for the bank. However, the financial institution that wants to create customer-centric banking experiences must re-imagine how they view NSF fees. An FI that thinks “customer first” may find more value from looking through the customer’s perspective.

Customers benefit from more personal and actionable advice and processes regarding balances–such as receiving an alert before their balances reach zero. That positive experience goes a long way toward driving loyalty and long-term value.

On the other hand, impersonal, ineffective customer service experiences and endless NSF fees might be the final push a customer needs to compel her to switch to another bank–a loss whose value far outweighs the short-term benefit of fee revenue.

2. Target channel-to-channel friction

The legacy customer service processes that many Brazilian FIs still deploy may create more obstacles to customer-centric banking. Generally, these processes assume that all customers follow the same steps to get help or service in the context of a single channel, device and session. In reality, the customer may be forced from the website to telephone banking with a PIN code the customer never created. Or the customer has to use the browser website because the mobile app doesn’t offer secure email. Moving from channel to channel, the customer will probably have to repeat information over and over again.

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In the era of omnichannel financial services, this siloed approach essentially tells your customers that your institution doesn’t know who they–the customer–are. If a customer must re-enter information and complete redundant processes across every support session, this friction drives impersonal processes and negative experiences that hinder satisfaction and loyalty.

Meanwhile, efficient, personalized customer service can increase trust and reduce friction in the customer’s experience with your FI. This trust helps open the door to more opportunities for the FI to cultivate deeper, more profitable relationships with customers.

3. Choose a digital banking platform to deploy emerging technologies

Before digital banking became the norm, Brazilian banks could build trust through the reliable branch managers and tellers who knew customers’ names, the company they worked for and everyone in the neighborhood. Generally, when it came time for a car loan, customers sat down with the branch manager who knew these details and used them, along with the bank’s processes, to determine that customer’s eligibility for a loan. The manager was often able to suggest the appropriate services and the customer trusted his suggestions.

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Today banks instead can use digital banking to help recreate–and even surpass–those exceptional experiences of the past. A digital banking platform should go above and beyond transactional capabilities and replicate pre-digital customer service processes, enabling the bank to deliver those experiences with an omni-channel, data-driven approach.

Want to Learn More?

As we step further into 2024, Brazilian banks are poised to redefine the landscape of customer-centric banking by embracing these guiding principles. By focusing on personalization, reducing friction across service channels, and utilizing digital platforms to enhance the banking experience, financial institutions can not only meet, but exceed, the expectations of today's discerning customers.

Cyberbank is Galileo’s dynamic core and API-centric digital banking platform, designed to enable banks to evolve in line with the demands of Brazil’s digital-first customers and those in the process of evolving. The platform helps FIs quickly adapt to changes in consumer behaviors and expectations, creating new and innovative products and services that keep customers engaged and loyal over the long term.

Contact us to learn how Galileo can help your bank create exceptional experiences.