The current state of the customer onboarding process in financial institutions (FIs) in general and Bank & Trust firms in particular is largely disorganized and far from efficient. With lengthy, complicated documentation requirements and stringent rules and regulations, the onboarding process causes many would-be customers to tap out. In fact, Deloitte research found that at least 38% of banking clients drop out during the onboarding process due to the sheer frustration of having to go through complex processes and the reams of paperwork required.
What’s wrong with the process? Here are five of the biggest gaps:
- The KYC process is broken: Reuters reports that 85% of its corporate banking customers don’t have an appropriate Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure – the mandatory process of identifying and verifying a client’s identity during onboarding and again, periodically, over time. Some legal frameworks still exist that require customers to visit bank branches or submit physical documents. Such shortfalls in digitizing onboarding end-to-end can lead to delays and inconveniences for customers, who prefer a seamless online experience.
- Limitations in self-service: While many banks have made progress in providing self-service capabilities to customers, there are often limitations, and certain complex transactions and requests still require the customers to speak to customer service representatives. What’s more, most self-service platforms lack personalization features, and customers often receive generic information that fails to address their needs.
- Insufficient education and support: Banks often assume that customers are knowledgeable about their products and services, which may not always be the case. Providing comprehensive educational resources and easily accessible support channels within self-service platforms can help customers navigate and make the most of the available features.
- Painful integrations: Integrating various banking systems and platforms can be a significant challenge, leading to fragmented self-service experiences. Customers may find it hard to access and manage their accounts in a seamless manner across various channels – from mobile apps to websites and ATMs.
- Security concerns: As self-service options expand, it becomes crucial to implement robust security measures – multi-factor authentication, encryption and fraud detection – to protect customer information and transactions.
McKinsey researchers found that 40% of a customer’s time spent onboarding involves KYC due diligence and account opening. Simply automating these processes and giving the customer more control can remove onboarding bottlenecks and alleviate much of the dissatisfaction that drives customers away.
Filling in the gaps with an automated, personalized approach
A user-friendly, fully digital onboarding process enables customers to create their own accounts, verify their identities and submit all required documents online, without having to visit a physical branch. This would not only reduce the time and effort that onboarding requires, it would save banks a lot of money – the average time to onboard business banking customers is now 32 days, and up to 90 days for retail customers.
Personalizing the onboarding process based on the customer’s profile, preferences and specific banking needs is also essential to deliver exceptional customer experiences. By collecting relevant information during onboarding, processes can be tailored with personalized recommendations, product offerings and features that align with the customer’s financial goals.
Guided self-service tools with clear instructions and user-friendly interfaces can guide customers through complex tasks, as well, reducing their reliance on customer support staff. Incorporating support channels like chatbots, automated email support and live chat can be used to deliver prompt assistance and clarification, in case customers encounter issues or have questions during their onboarding journey.
Finally, as cybercrime continues to increase, robust security measures are critical. Implementing multi-factor authentication, encryption, real-time fraud detection and other advanced security protocols not only protects your financial organization, but helps to build customer trust as well.
Simplify Onboarding and Facilitate Self-service with JIFFY.ai
Leading financial institutions are closing the gaps in the onboarding process and offering seamless self-service capabilities by relying on third-party expertise such as the no-code, ready-made HyperApps developed by JIFFY.ai. These HyperApps, purpose-built for banks and FIs, combine advanced technologies such as AI, ML and natural language processing to provide end-to-end process automation for Bank & Trust firms.
