The future of banking: Multi-channel convergence to an Omnichannel endpoint

Senior Product Marketing Manager

Channel convergence has been a topic of discussion in the banking industry for some time but what that truly means to the bank and their clients is still coming into focus.

Banks, similar to many other industries, have grown and innovated within their own internal silos.  So an advancement in the branch experience did not necessarily coincide with the same experience improvement at the ATM or through the world wide web.  This disconnect has reached a tipping point as the Generation X , Y and millennial groups  are making up a larger portion of the target market.  This group expects their providers to have a holistic approach and view into their interactions with the institution, or a truly omnichannel approach. 

Getting to an omnichannel end point won’t be achieved overnight for many banks and faces an endless amount of obstacles that exist through platform limitations, historical silos, and business processes to name a few but the convergence discussions should be full swing or at the least started.  With an increased emphasis on client satisfaction and loyalty scores banks have sharpened their focus on improving the user experience.

Improving the experience of the end user is at the center of the channel convergence discussion.  This initiative spans the entire bank.  The bank, as a true single entity in the clients eyes, should have knowledge of any interaction the bank has with its client be it a mail campaign, a branch interaction, a call center support inquiry, an online transaction, or a promotional tweet.  The consistent user experience is having all the pieces of this puzzle together, in one spot and accessible for any person call center, branch personnel, relationship manager or technology online, mobile, tablet, ATM that interacts with the client.

Getting to the omnichannel endpoint is very much in the future but thinking of the banks convergence strategy is very much here today and the possibilities this approach can unlock will change how the industry looks, acts and hopefully services their clients.