Rebuilding Trust in Digital Banking for Gen X

There was a time when I knew my Bank Manager on a personal level, he was one of my most trusted advisers, he knew my name and acted with integrity, he gave me advice, he shook my hand every time I entered the building and he was godfather to my children.

This is a man I trusted, he explained my products in simple terms, my current account had no fees, derivatives were only referenced in Darwinism and I got cold hard cash into my hand every month. I trusted my bank, my bank was my advocate, and I felt protected by the bank. 

We can depict this scenario in the form of a pyramid,  which is illustrated below. It includes the seven criteria which allows us, the customer, to move through it. The three statements to the right best summarise the sentiment above at each stage of the pyramid.

What Happened Next? 

The introduction of ATM's brought convenience, but also green screens, and a PIN. A handshake had turned into a four digit code that would look equally at home on the jumpsuit of an incarcerated mass murder, as it does on my bank account. It was not long afterwards that fees were introduced on current accounts and complex instruments became the norm. The distance between the public and the banking sector became larger. When we combine this with the economic downturn, it paints the picture of how trust in the banking sector became eradicated. We became suspicious of our credits cards, deposit accounts, lending and investments strategies.

In 2011 alone the number of people who would recommend their bank dropped from 67% to 47%. This drop comes even though the level of complaints in banks over the same period dropped from 17% to 13%. This shows us there is more to trust than just a good service and power is switching to the consumer. 

Digital Banking

Banks have long acknowledged that a digital offering is required for competitiveness.  More than 1 in 4 consumers now state that they would like a bankless digital offering. 35% of banks’ market share in North America could be in play by 2020 as traditional branch banking gives way to new digital players, and the largest threat is coming from Technology Companies and the FINTECH community.

As these decisions result in even greater distances between banks and their customers, it begs the question, how do we rebuild trust in the banking sector?  

Rebuilding Trust in Digital Banking 

In the pyramid above, we have identified three elements that help customers traverse the trust pyramid. The following puts forward an argument that each can be met through appropriate digital design, customer journey and some forced perspective.  and gives some indications of how this might be possible.  

My money is Safe and Protected in the Bank

In a world where we cannot see the vault, and Plexiglas has been swapped for a Google Chrome browser: How do we ensure Safety?  

Perception of Safety is one way!

Does your online banking website look the same as your local nightclubs, youtube, a news website or "Just Eat"? Noooo. It's boring but an accessible portal that openly advertises security and safety (there isn’t anything quite as reassuring as a Captcha check and the SSL “tick” on a banking website). Typically the first message that appears is your security code following by a notification of any recent attempts at fraudulent activity and tips for keeping your account safe.  

I know what you’re thinking, Mobile banks such as number26 are breaking this mould. Yes, but they market to Millennials, and there is a whole blog in discussing the nuances of digital design based on the next generational cohort.

Transparent Fraud detection is another!

Google, Yahoo, PayPal and eBay all bring this front and centre. We have all received the email notifying us that our account has been suspended pending verification, or notifying us that a login has been received from an account not normally associated with your details.

Granted for every email I receive that is genuine, some clever soul has tried to replicate it to get my login details, but it does make me wonder if the banking sector should follow suit, at least for the appropriate demographics.

Another example of this is Fraud disputes on PayPal. One details the dispute and the Fraud Management team manage it on your behalf. What happens when your dispute is not resolved? You are offered the option to bring a mediated claim forward. The court of arbitration could learn from this.  

At this point, it is worth mentioning that Banks have made some steps in terms of security with timed logouts, secure pins and card readers (I’ve lost two of these now!), but are they truly viewing the online channel as more than an entry point?

The Bank Knows Me and Acts As One

"Big Data", along with "Innovation" must be two of the most overused PR phrases to come from the "Internet of Things". Many in the Banking Industry are realising the power of Big Data in identifying cross-sell opportunities, however, a few are also using data to get to know their customer a bit better and designing conversations that create rapport.

I’m not talking KYC requirements here. What I mean is knowing your customer in the context of understanding, for example, that they are currently in financial difficulty, and offering repayment plans that may suit. It's knowing that their kids had a birthday, they are interested in purchasing property and offering advice on the best areas to buy. They have had a death in the family and may need quick access to money to pay for the funeral, they are going through hardship or they recently moved jobs that requires them to travel.

Imagine, if you will that you changed jobs, and got a message from the bank saying ‘We noticed you are travelling a lot recently. You are being charged too much for transactions on the account you are now on. This traveller + account suits your needs better.’ Wouldn’t that be a wonderful way to create rapport? Compare this to a scenario where you are forced to trawl through the market uneducated trying to find the best deal?  

 This Bank may not be godfather to my children but creating sincere and flexible customer journeys that are designed to these insights can mimic the emotional response related to personal interaction and create the level of trust previously initiated by a simple handshake. 

The Bank is my Advocate

McKinsey recently highlighted that induced consumer-to-consumer word of mouth generates more than twice the sales of paid advertising. The majority of surveys also highlight direct customer services as a driver for creating advocacy, with a number highlighting "face time" as a key proponent; but how does this translate to the Digital World? 

The key component of understanding advocacy in the digital world, is determining the drivers for it. Many organisations use NPS or other sentiment systems to determine this but in the digital world we can use analytics to track the journey of any customer, identifying the key events that have resulted in advocacy to create a persona. But, you will find that it may be as simple as offering product options that are in line with customer’s needs or, identifying and offering the preferred device for interacting with the platform. 

For Example: What happens when you enter a shop for the first time in New York? A Sales Agent immediately asks if you require any help. From an Irish perspective, we sometimes feel a level of discomfort with perceived "pushiness", but a simple" No, I'm ok", suddenly makes you invisible! And secretly we are all happy we were asked. We now know who to talk to when we have a problem.

I'm sure your platform can identify when a new user has entered the platform, wouldn't it be nice for a customer service representative to open a chat and ask them do they require any help? With chatbots, this whole interaction can be designed and automated, including the disappearing act if unwarranted. Perhaps this is a driver for one of your Advocates? 

I’m also sure your system can identify when a customer is spending much longer online or clicking more pages than they usually do. Is this an opportunity to spot a customer who needs help and open a conversation? How would this make you feel if you were in the same position? What story would you tell to your colleagues at work the next day?

At times advocacy can be driven by the simplest of actions; before Christmas I used to shop in Tesco for my meat, I now shop the in local butchers; why did I change?

Tesco was closed early one Sunday morning and the butcher was open, in I went. The butcher could see I was struggling to convert the metrics and walked me through the process and did so with the biggest smile. That’s all it took (perhaps I’m a push-over!). I’ve now recommended the same butchers to my whole family; they all got their Christmas Turkey’s off the same butcher. Why can’t we design the same conversation in a Digital world?

Fairness and Sharing practical wisdom

Millennial's represent the largest generational cohort in History, and will soon form the primary group of purchasing power globally. Millennials differ from their predecessors in that they reward your company if behaviour matches their own ethics and punish you if it doesn't. Many would argue that Generation X  have also moved in this direction both through influence and triggered through world events.  The two most practical actions that can be taken to mitigate this risk is to ensure fairness and share practical wisdom. 

A level of transparency can lead to a general sense of fairness. The granularity of transparency, however, is  extremely important. For example, do I really need to be reminded that my bitcoins are about to be invested in a complex financial instrument with a high risk of failure? Or do I merely need to be notified of the value of my account and most importantly, ancillary options that are available to me that may reduce the risk or indeed increase my probability of return? The bank that shares practical wisdom, for example, by comparing their rate of return with that of competition is my friend, and research shows that we have a tendency to stick with our friend even when there are marginal increases in return by moving. 

Another mechanism of sharing practical wisdom is through gamification. ICICIDirect for example run "StockMind" which is India's biggest virtual stock market competition for students with cash prizes. Not only are they sharing practical wisdom by training students in the stock market but ethically they are also helping students pay for tuition. 

Emersion in these three basic needs result in customers sitting at the top of the pyramid. They trust the bank and as a bi-product becomes your most vehement advocates. What are the three things you can do today to improve trust in your Digital offer?  

Paul is a Director at Vision Consulting, the world's leading consultancy house in Organisational Design: Offering solutions for Customer Experience & UX, Sales and Service Improvement, Capital Efficient Projects, Leadership Effectiveness, Management Effectiveness and IT Transformation.

Words by Paul Prior & Brian Cantwell.