Digital disruption is already shaking-up the way financial brands and payment companies attract and retain their customers, and no customer wants to be treated as “just another number.”
Banks and financial services institutions can avoid losing valuable customers by building dynamic, engaging communications that can be delivered to customers on-demand across multiple platforms – web portals, social media platforms, SMS text messages, emails, and traditional documents.
If customers can’t get the convenient, practical experience they are looking for from your brand, they are likely to go elsewhere to find it. And given onboarding forms are one of the first touchpoints between customers and brands, ensuring that they are as easy-to-use as possible is key.
With customers now having the opportunity to onboard across multiple devices and channels, or even through a call center, the likelihood of an inconsistent experience is drastically increased.
For banks, financial services institutions, and payment companies to remain relevant in today’s digital age, they must give customers the ability to complete onboarding forms on their own terms, across their preferred device or channel, and within their desired timeframe.
When it comes to mobile transactions specifically, according to Forrester, 44% of younger millennials and more than 50 percent of older millennials feel frustrated when a bank’s website isn’t mobile-friendly. Customer expectations for mobile interactions have changed now that most people use a smartphone or mobile device. They want great experiences wherever they are, whenever they choose and across any device type. Unfortunately, PDFs and hard-coded HTML forms were never designed to handle the mobile experience. If you rely on these forms to engage your audience, it’s time to transform your forms.
Many organizations have found that moving their web forms to mobile is complicated. Allowing customers to download or even complete a static PDF form online isn’t truly digital. “Smart forms” are still hard-coded in HTML with static fields. Forms that may look sufficient on an older website often break on mobile devices. Many companies still offer the same blank fields to everyone on a web form, rather than filling forms in an intuitive, adaptive manner.
To avoid unnecessary frustrations, banks and financial institutions should take advantage of the tools available within mobile devices, like the ability to upload a photo of their ID from a phone, leverage the use of third-party apps, like geo location services, and continue the form journey in remote locations using their cellular service. These are just a few benefits that come with the use of next-generation forms.
Several industries – especially financial services – have complicated data requirements and strict compliance regulations. State or regional rules often govern what information needs to be gathered, and in what format. Customers often have to wade through forms with irrelevant questions to figure out what’s needed from them. Without proper data capture and verification, most financial institutions end up dealing with incomplete, illegible or inaccurate data.
Mistakes or incomplete data on forms usually require significant manual work to resolve before that customer’s bank or financial account can be opened or updated. In contrast, next-generation digital forms provide the ability to use rules and connections to core systems of record (like Fiserv or Salesforce) to serve up only the questions that matter to the customer and the transaction, thus delivering a more personalized and seamless experience.
