BANKING
From high-touch to no-touch: THE CHANGING FACE OF BANKING Interesting times call for innovative solutions. While banking has had its eye on the digital prize for decades, COVID-19 has become a catalyst for more urgent digital transformation. Here, Monica Spigner, Executive Vice President, Business Transformation and Mike Sloman, Senior Vice President at Teleperformance explore the ways in which front-end banking processes have changed for the better, thanks to digital technologies Banking gets a bit of an unfair reputation. A traditional sector governed by stringent laws and regulatory bodies, has arguably been a bit more tentative in wrapping its arms completely around online tools than sectors such as retail or hospitality. Online banking has certainly been around for longer 30
thank you think (the late 90s), and let’s not overlook the luxury that is the cash point (still technology in action). However, over the past six to nine months we’ve seen unprecedented change in how banks are now interacting with consumers. During the current global health pandemic, we saw five generations living, working and quarantining simultaneously – the first time in human history. Homes suddenly became workplaces, and we turned to technology to remain connected, operational and profitable. For a sector previously reliant on face-to-face interactions, banking had to go back to the strategic drawing board and look at how quickly and effectively it could adopt digital tools to change frontend processes, at scale and against the clock. The results have been encouraging, turning turmoil into opportunity.
Following in the footsteps of retail If retail is the kingdom of all things digital, then Amazon is its queen. Whether we’re talking about its Prime delivery service, Alexa-enabled smart devices or the upcoming and very first online-only Whole Foods store in the US, if you can imagine it, then Amazon has probably done it.
Mike Sloman
