Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

UK service providers must notify customers when they connect to a different network

New rules from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom will protect customers when they use their mobile phone on a foreign network. In addition, customers will be alerted if they are inadvertently roaming, perhaps because they're near an international border.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS

Opinion Articles

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Banking on good customer service?

How mobile technology is changing the banking sector

The future of customer service is to bridge the gap between the smart consumer with the smartphone and the bank holding his or her financial assets. Even though mobile applications are becoming increasingly powerful customer touch points, many banks are failing to leverage them in order to engage with consumers. Mandip Shergill, Account Executive at Genesys, looks at how banks can maintain and strengthen the customer relationship in the mobile channel.

From digital wallets to mobile payments, the way consumers manage their money is changing. But for banks, it cannot be just about how consumers pay – it has to be about ensuring that the increasingly tech-savvy consumer who uses a variety of sophisticated communications tools in their everyday lives, can communicate with their bank through their chosen channel – whether for advice, difficulties, new services, or a payment transfer!

All the statistics show that mobile is becoming the primary banking interaction channel. However, for banks trying to deliver a full mobile capability this presents a real challenge. They need to shift their focus to mobile engagement in terms of service delivery, and compete to retain the customer relationship in order to maintain customer satisfaction.

There are three key developments in mobile banking driving change.

Mobile wallets on-the-go

Retail banks can fully exploit mobile banking by offering segmented consumer experiences and advanced digital wallet capabilities. A “mobile wallet” allows consumers to store and manage their credit, debit, prepaid and gift cards on their mobile device. It has been designed to help consumers shop faster online, aggregating all of their cards under one account and sparing them the hassle of entering billing information.

Instead of carrying around numerous cards, consumers can use the virtual “cards” on their phone to make point-of-sale purchases. They can swipe their phone or tap the screen a few times, and a payment can be easily made.

Mobile is certainly a key touch point with the consumer.

Loyalty – stay or move?

Research has shown that if customer service is bad at one bank, consumers will jump ship much more quickly to another bank. And now it will be even easier than ever to do so.

In September of this year, the UK Government announced it has invested in a IT system that allows banks to speed up the time it takes to shift current accounts between banks. As a result, during September, campaigning from the banking industry has ramped up in order to encourage customers to switch bank accounts. The new plans are a bid to make banks offer a better service to their customers.

But to encourage customers to shift banks by offering more products and services – one of which could be mobile capabilities – ignores the real dilemma. If the customer service is right, customers will stay rather than move.

Most customers are just looking for their problems to be solved, and so banks must develop their customer engagement strategies – to spend as much on keeping a customer as wooing a new one.

Mobile Customer Service Apps – the customer's in the driving seat!

Barclays' mobile peer to peer payments app Pingit has recently reported significant success with around 700-800k regular users. This just shows that consumers are certainly present on mobile, and therefore must be addressed via this channel in customer service.

As the proliferation of smartphones and mobile applications accelerates, these technologies have become increasingly powerful customer touch points. Consumers are now more informed and empowered with product, service and information choices that are available at the touch of a button.

The consumer must be given more control over where, when and how they engage with an organisation. Transactions must execute in real-time and provide the user immediate feedback with minimal intrusion to their daily lives. Customised self-service becomes the model that users demand and organisations must adapt to.

Effective mobile customer care requires a seamless transition between self-service applications and live assistance. So banks need to raise the bar on personalisation and deliver a customer experience that is increasingly determined by the customer – when they want service, where, and over what channel.

Customer Journey – still a rocky road

Mobile requires simplicity and innovation. The features need to reflect what customers need, enabling them to undertake relevant transactions on the move, and helping the customer when they need to go to another channel.

From a customer service perspective, for many organisations this remains disconnected from mobile applications. When live assistance is required, customers must exit the mobile application and call the contact centre number provided. As a result, customers must then start from the beginning: wait on hold, re-authenticate themselves, navigate complex phone menus and explain what they were trying to accomplish, when they are eventually connected to a customer service representative.

The mobile solution needs to be able to support the customer journey, whether it is one that can be completed via mobile, or one that is integrated across multiple channels.

Mobile banking is changing how customers manage and transact their money and it's having a significant impact on customer experience. Banks are beginning to recognise this but with the new measures coming into place to encourage consumers to switch bank accounts, banks are going to have a lot to do if they are to fend off multiple competitors in this very competitive market space.

Mandip Shergill is Account Executive at Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, which provides customer experience and contact centre solutions to over 3,500 customers in 80 countries.
Print
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Categories: Applications, OpinionNumber of views: 47905

Tags: opinion banking payments applications genesys

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Recent Podcasts

Reviewing our 2015 mobile industry predictions... and looking forward to 2016

Podcast - 15th January 2016

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Podcast from Mobile World Congress 2015

Podcast - 6th March 2015

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Looking back at February: from security scares to multiple MVNOs

Podcast - 27th February 2015

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Interview with Chris Millington of Doro about mobile retailing, wearables and technology for older consumers

Podcast - 24th February 2015

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

A month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

Podcast - 30th January 2015

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
1345678910Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«December 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
2526272829301
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
303112345

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement