Creating Hyper-Personalised Experiences in Banking

Empathetic banking and human banking are one and the same. They both refer to banks leveraging technology to do what’s right for the consumer. 

The emergence of ‘empathetic banking’

The topic of empathetic banking and human banking is simple: treat customers like you know them. 

Customers want the ‘Netflix experience’ where you are recommended the shows you love before you even know you want to watch them. Customers want this level of tailoring in all aspects of their lives. For banks, creating the ‘Netflix experience’ starts with building a personal relationship between them and the customer. In fact, a survey conducted by The Harris Poll, revealed that 40% of banking consumers would likely leave their primary financial institution for a digital bank that offers an experience similar to that of online shopping. 

As a consumer of financial products, you go to a bank because you need their help with your financial life. Our financial lives are very close to our emotional lives, whether that be buying your first home and needing a mortgage or setting up a child’s savings account to help prepare them for their future. In these cases, the personal, human touches from banks are where it counts. For example, the bank may notice that you’ve started traveling a lot for work and decide to offer you a multi-currency account. 

However, technology can’t replicate the empathetic interactions we get from human assistance and sometimes that’s exactly what consumers need. Other times, consumers crave convenience. They want to press a button and have their issue resolved. 

Using data to enhance experiences 

Data can give the end user experiences they want to see with minimal or no effort from them.  We all know, consumers and banks alike, that data is valuable and in return for their data, consumers now expect a certain level of service. Living in a data economy allows us to adapt products and offerings depending on the needs and feedback of the customer. 

Technology is the enabler for banks to use data to ‘level up’ their products, and allow them to take action quickly when it’s needed. 

For example; blocking individual suspicious transactions rather than freezing my entire bank account would tell me my bank not only knows my spending habits, and is using technology and my data to protect my money. On top of this it shows they know me well enough to know I don’t want the inconvenience of having all my transactions frozen because of one suspicious transaction. 

The future of hyper-personalised banking 

It would be an achievement in banking if we got to a point where consumers never needed to speak to a human. For this to happen, we would have to make a start to finish consumer experience where they can get all the help they need themselves, without needing to speak to someone else. 

However, in the future the biggest change I personally predict is that banks will take on the role of a financial advisor for the consumer, rather than a seller of financial products. A bank's role will be to assist you and advise on decisions you make in your financial life. This is where personalisation comes in, banks will be your financial friends and will no longer just be trying to sell you a product.