Modern consumers are accustomed to the conveniences of consumer apps such as Uber and Amazon. These consumers expect the same user-friendly experiences during the account opening process. The banking industry, however, faces unique onboarding challenges that are not present in other industries- such as complying with strict and dynamic regulations. Here are 5 ways to significantly improve the account opening process:
1. Adopt a Mobile-First Account Opening Process
Banks have experienced a14.5% increase in online account openings since the start of the pandemic. Yet only 40% of banks provide an end-to-end mobile account opening process. As more and more customers turn to mobile for their banking needs, banks need to offer customers a “mobile-first” banking experience.Providing a mobile-first experience is far more nuanced in banking than it is in other industries. Banking customers rely on a complex mix of in-person and digital channels. Arecent McKinsey report noted the challenges of meeting the needs of customers that “are increasingly channel agnostic, jumping between channels to solve problems and get answers. They are also embracing digital channels embraced by human interaction.” This means that banks should not only offer the option to open a new account on a mobile device but must provide opportunities for seamless digital and human interaction throughout the account opening process.
2. Strike a Careful Balance Between Compliance and the Customer Experience
Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations have drastically increased the costs of opening new customer accounts. These costs come in many forms, such as compliance and regulatory fines. The costs of AML compliance across U.S. financial services firms cost an estimated. While financial institutions in the U.S., Europe, APAC, and the Middle East have been subject to over the past decade in financial penalties for AML, KYC, and other sanctions-related violations. There are also indirect costs associated with a poor customer experience. According to some estimates, banks take an to complete the customer onboarding process. A lengthy account opening process can lead to abandoned applications and lost revenue.To strike a balance between compliance and providing a superior customer experience, banks must leverage automation technologies in theaccount opening process. For example, a low-code business process management (BPM) platform allows banks to streamline customer data collection to provide lightning-fast approvals while enabling service representatives to focus on the customer service.
