Technology for rebuilding consumer confidence

Currently the financial services industry is passing through a critical phase. Financial crises and numerous product mis-selling scandals have caused erosion in customer confidence. This industry needs to find a way out for rebuilding the lost trust. Many experts are of the opinion that investment in new technologies will help restore the credibility.
Recent trends show that across other industries, companies are investing in many emerging tools like social media, smartphone apps, and data analysis to know about their customers better and in a smarter way. They are then utilizing those insights to forge a deeper relationship with customers, one where they welcome their products, services and brands into the fabric of their everyday lives.
Banks and insurers would be delighted to transform their customer relationships likewise and they have already moved in that direction. Mobile banking apps, for instance, are now a commonplace instrument. Various research findings demonstrate that in an industry characterized by primeval technology systems and conservative attitudes, change can be slow.
More and more people are choosing to use smart phones and technology for everyday transactions. Firms need to be fast and flexible to meet rapidly evolving consumer expectations. It is not just apps that firms need to roll out promptly, but they need to be more approachable with new products and services also. Though technological innovation can help financial firms to rebuild trust, they need to tread with caution because the cost of engagement with large numbers of customers can ramp up rapidly. There is a lot of experimentation as the challenge is to consolidate it and do it cost effectively. That puts this challenge firmly in the realm of the CXO (chief officer), particularly in the area of finance function.
There needs to be a rethinking about how banks interact with customers in terms of customer centricity rather than product diversification. The relationship is less about selling and more about being there for people. Financial institutes need to continue to offer choices so that the customers have the flexibility regarding banks in a way that suits their needs, but they need to make sure that as they seek to offer customers a better experience via technology, they do not create expectations that they cannot live up to.
Business necessitates to  separate hype from reality and invest to learn more about customer attitudes and how banks can scale up and meet them. Data quality need to be stronger and a firm must have a balanced portfolio of technology investments.
Banks invest in human resources so that customers have access to expertise face to face, to become the most accessible bank, with the most digitally savvy workforce. There should also be a balanced investment, an innovative and sustainable future-proof suite of branches that exist alongside a choice of ways in which customers can contact the bank for sustained growth and competitive advantages.
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