In this article:
- Nationwide shows its customers it cares with rich messaging
- Belfius simplifies the process of filing insurance claims with a chatbot
- FirstBank keeps customers up to date with personalized SMS notifications
- Nets helps prevent fraud without harming CX with two-way SMS
- Triodos offers a smooth, personalized experience at every step
- Bottom line: It's all about value
How do you create experiences that are relevant, valuable, and secure enough to win customers in this demanding industry? These five examples of excellent customer service in banking and financial services show you what works, and why it works. Get inspired!
At Sinch, we know customer experience is everything, and the financial services industry is no exception. In fact, according to the results of our global consumer survey for banking and financial services, 1 in 3 consumers have switched banks to get a better mobile CX.
So, what makes a satisfying CX for today’s digital-savvy financial services customers?
We asked 2,900 of them worldwide, and it turns out the answer is simple. Great customer experience focuses on … your customers. It's about customers and their individual needs. It’s meaningful and value-adding. But what exactly does this mean in practice?
- Autonomy: Give customers more control over their experiences — offer them insights to help them make better decisions and let them take action on urgent information that affects their finances.
- Proactive engagement: Solve problems before they even pop up — enable real-time conversations that add real value.
- Trust: Make trust a key driver in digital interactions. Customers are ready to engage in new experiences, but only if they feel you have their best interests in mind.
- Security: Make security visible in digital interactions using two-factor authentication, identity badges, and video calling.
- Seamless interactions: Combine the best of automation and human to provide instant answers to common questions while offering an easy way to switch to a human conversation when your customers need it.
Let's take a look at some real-life examples of this approach that you can learn from right now.
Nationwide shows its customers it cares with rich messaging
How they achieved it:
Nationwide Building Society, a British bank, deployed a messaging-based service to proactively support customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We care, and at times of need, we will be there. That’s what Nationwide is built on. In this already-challenging time, we wanted to offer the best experience possible,” explained Simon Dixon, Demand Manager in communication delivery and logistics.
The company granted a payment holiday to bank customers in the early stage of COVID to support those economically affected by the pandemic. When that period ended, the bank used rich SMS to provide personalized information about next steps.
Why it works:
Your customers want to do business with brands that have their best interests at heart. To convince them that you really want to help, you need to prove that you understand their struggles.
Nationwide understood their customers' pain points in these difficult times and offered a truly valuable solution to support them — and delivered it in an interactive, convenient format.
The results? Quadrupled engagement and click-through rates compared to industry average.
Belfius simplifies the process of filing insurance claims with a chatbot
How they achieved it:
Belfius, one of the largest banks in Belgium, implemented an easy and convenient process to simplify insurance claim filing.
Using conversational AI, the company integrated a smart chatbot into its mobile banking app that made the process of filling out insurance claims effortless and personalized for each customer.
Why it works:
Customers expect their financial partners to deliver experiences that make tedious everyday tasks easier, on channels and devices they already use — and this is what Belfius’ chatbot is all about.
FirstBank keeps customers up to date with personalized SMS notifications
How they achieved it:
FirstBank is leveraging the reach and immediacy of mobile messaging to enhance user experience and inform customers about everything they need to know. Using personalized SMS messages, the company sends notifications and alerts about daily balance, deposits, withdrawals, purchases, suspicious activity, and more.
Why it works:
Banking customers like the convenience of messaging-based services. After all, keeping up to date on one’s finances should be easy.
“Making the move from financial institution to tech company has changed the way FirstBank thinks about customer relationships. Technology enables a superior customer experience. Mobile messaging is integral in the mix…vital in delivering not just messages, but on our promise of meeting customers where they want to be met.” — Kelly Kaminskas Digital and Retail President, FirstBank.
And the results of this approach speak for themselves: More than 60% of FirstBank’s online banking customers are signed up to receive messaging alerts.
Nets helps prevent fraud without harming CX with two-way SMS
How they achieved it:
Nets, a leading payment processor in Europe, needed to enable quick and reliable communication with cardholders regarding suspicious transactions. They opted for two-way SMS to allow customers to validate transactions in real-time with minimal friction.
Why it works:
Nets understands that security shouldn’t be at the expense of customer experience. With two-way SMS, the company is now protecting end-users from fraud while ensuring a frictionless user experience.
“The two-way communication solution allows us to react instantly towards cardholders while ensuring the best user experience and a high level of security at the same time.” — Majken Bech Thanning Product Manager, Nets.
Triodos offers a smooth, personalized experience at every step
How they achieved it:
Triodos Bank, a leader in sustainable banking, is rethinking customer engagement to offer personalized, value-adding experiences across the entire customer journey:
“Integrating the listening processes, surveys, personalized interviews, ad hoc studies, website data and transactions, social media movement, chat messages or video messages we receive; all of this serves to evaluate what the clients need in real-time.” Sergio Rodriguez Customer Experience Specialist, Triodos Bank.
The company also uses SMS verification to make logins and sign-ups easy and secure.
Why it works:
This integrated, customer-centric approach allows Triodos to understand customers’ needs and expectations and adapt to changing behaviors and individual preferences. That means seamless, meaningful experiences for every customer, on any channel, across their entire journey — and lasting relationships.
Bottom line: It's all about value
The most important thing to remember about these examples of excellent customer service in banking and financial services is that you always need to think about the value you’re bringing to your customers.
If you understand their needs and make every interaction helpful and personalized, then you're well on your way to delivering outstanding experiences and creating meaningful, lasting relationships with your customers.
Sinch helps over 200 financial services companies worldwide prevent fraud, stay compliant, and offer a smooth customer experience. Explore our customer engagement solutions for financial services and get in touch with our experts.
