Rising online money management expectations drive finance firms to lift their digital game
Standing in line to access money and manage financial affairs is not how most Australians do their banking today. Instead, they expect it to be as simple as ordering an Uber or posting a story to Instagram.
More than 80% say they prefer to check account balances, pay bills or transfer money online, according to the Australian Banking Association1. More than one in three Australians with smartphones use a digital wallet, while one in ten regularly leaves home without a physical wallet and uses their phone to pay for purchases.
When it comes to choosing a bank for a financial product or service, 69% of Australians say that "having the most up-to-date technology is important", according to PwC Australia's Customer Banking Survey 20212. A similar number (72%) agree that it is important for companies to connect their digital and in-person experiences.
As a result, traditional finance businesses are increasingly under threat from disruption by nimble and emerging digital competitors which don’t have the weight of legacy applications and infrastructure holding them back.
Despite this growing competition, the PwC survey found that many digital banking products in Australia still lack the ease of use and functionality that customers expect. They increasingly want the type of engaging and frictionless customer experience they receive from organisations like Amazon and Netflix.
This includes improved levels of customer service, using video and other communication tools to provide the personalised service which remains key to building and retaining trust.
Put your money on data
The combination of open banking and real-time payments is set to help tech-savvy finance firms forge stronger bonds with their customers and create seamless interactions.
Open banking is the first stage of the Consumer Data Right3 (CDR), which is set to become an economy-wide system that enables the safe and secure sharing of consumer data. Thanks to open banking, businesses can instantly verify bank accounts and customer identities. It can also be used to pre-check an account balance before initiating a transaction, as well as pre-authorise one-off or recurring payments.
Not only does open banking remove friction from the customer experience, it also allows businesses and customers to make the most of their data in search of new insights, to deepen that relationship and explore the potential of a wide range of new products and services.
Improving network performance and lifting security
On the back-end, businesses can enhance security, improve performance and rein in costs by upgrading their broadband links and networking infrastructure.
Improved broadband links support fast document and data transfers, which improves customer service while also underpinning back-up and archiving efforts in order to help protect data and meet regulatory obligations. Robust broadband links also allow businesses in the financial sector to take advantage of the round-the-clock protection provided by a growing number of Security-as-a-Service and disaster-recovery options.
When it comes to linking branches back to the head office, Software-Defined Wide Area Networking4 (SD-WAN) provides a more flexible and cost-effective alternative to traditional expensive Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS). SD-WAN's ability to use broadband services from multiple carriers, which includes taking advantage of business nbn® links, makes it much more cost-effective and resilient.
Traditional network architecture relied on routing all businesses' traffic back through the head office. Employees working away from their desk relied on a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for remote access, creating considerable performance issues when working with cloud-based services.
Upgrading to SD-WAN improves cloud application performance for remote workers by allowing these applications to securely connect directly to the cloud rather than routing them via the head office. SD-WAN also optimises the available bandwidth and grants higher priority to business traffic.
Making better connections in finance
A fast and dependable business-grade broadband connection can form the cornerstone of any financial organisation’s efforts to embrace new technology and, in turn, improve their service to customers.
A business nbn connection doesn't just offer the option of fast upload and download speeds. It also helps allow businesses access to robust, secure and reliable broadband.^ It can provide the ability to prioritise data for critical applications - which can cover anything from everyday payments to high-value transactions and transfers - and to help ensure that cloud-based software and services areresponsive.^
Recognising the importance of connections to modern financial businesses, business nbn services also offer the option of priority customer service and support to service providers, which can help minimise business disruption and provide peace of mind about service restoration in the event of an unplanned outage. In addition, more flexible and business-friendly installation options, including appointments outside normal business hours are part of nbn’s service offering.#
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