7 Strategies for Financial Institutions to Improve Digital UX
Technology is a major part of consumers’ lives, and digital UX has become crucial for every service with which they interact. Many banks and credit unions have begun to incorporate more technology to meet the growing demand for digital services.
As a financial institution, it’s imperative to listen to customers and provide the best experience possible. Unfortunately, this can be quite difficult for financial institutions that must also ensure top-level security. However, failing to provide the best UX experience is a recipe for losing customers. Even when it comes to banking, modern customers expect a personalized, seamless user experience.
Why is UX innovation so challenging for banks?
Today, we’ll explore the top ways that financial institutions block their own digital UX innovation and how to fix it.
Digital Banking UX Challenges
Having a digital platform for your FI is a good start, but it’s not enough. Your platform must also be engaging, delivering a personalized experience. Understandably, the banking industry has many complex regulations and internal structures that make it challenging to deliver the best UX experience.
1. Adhering to Old Processes
Digital processes are always evolving and at a rapid rate. Just because something worked great in the past does not mean it will be suitable forever—or even next year. Many financial institutions rely on strategies that worked before, and they rely on individual leaders for new ideas. The issue with this top-down approach is that the leaders are often removed from UX design and may not address customer needs effectively.
2. Fear of Risks
UX design is not an overnight process. It requires trials and failures to make the best breakthroughs. While this makes sense for some decisions, risk aversion does not lead to the best UX.
3. Number of Features
The number of new features should not measure UX success. It’s about delivering value to the customers. Instead of adding features to meet quotas, banks must focus on the features that customers want and need.
4. Subpar Mobile Banking
While the use of mobile banking apps has multiplied, the technology has left consumers wanting more. Consumers are interested in using mobile banking, but they are often frustrated by the numerous steps to complete simple transactions. Many consumers find online banking to be easier to use than mobile banking.
Strategies for Financial Institutions to Improve UX Performance
1. Include UX Professionals Early
Eliminate top-down processes by incorporating UX professionals from the beginning. Rather than limiting decisions to executives, allow the UX professionals freedom to pursue the features and concepts that consumers demand.
2. Consider New Ideas
Instead of viewing new ideas as risks, think of them as opportunities. Allow your team to think outside the box and discuss new ideas. More conversations around new features and ideas for UX will foster innovation, helping you make the best decisions for customers.
3. Outcomes Over Outputs
Rather than measuring the number of features, measure the outcome and value of the features. Focus on UX that changes customer behavior positively, not just how many features are added.
4. Partner with a Software Vendor
For small to midsize financial institutions, partnering with a software vendor can help you get the UX you need without the investment. It’s incredibly cost-effective to partner with a fintech provider that can help you bring UX changes to market faster.
5. Adapt Off-the-Shelf Products
Building digital products is costly and time-consuming, making it difficult for many smaller financial institutions. Another solution is to adapt off-the-shelf products and customize them to meet your customers and institution’s needs.
6. Gather Feedback
There’s no need to guess what your customers want from a UX experience; simply ask them. Gather feedback and input from your customers about their UX experience, especially with your mobile application. Find out what their challenges are and what features or changes they’d like to see. Incorporate user feedback into your idea generation and UX plan.
7. Streamline
Think about ways you can make the UX experience frictionless. The best UX experiences are easy and intuitive. Features are not always the solution, many times, UX is about eliminating cumbersome steps and streamlining the process for your customers.
UX Support
In reality, many financial institutions get in their own way of creating a user-centered digital platform. Understandably, it can be difficult for banks and credit unions to know the best approach to take with UX and technology for their customers. Partnering with an experienced IT support team is a significant step that helps many financial institutions achieve the best UX for their customers.