Experience Digital from Fiserv can help you realize your digital roadmap. But strategy first.

 

For most financial institutions, the COVID-19 pandemic sped up accountholder demand for digital products and services. Projects that were once several years out on organizational roadmaps moved to the front of the line. That pace of change was essential in the face of extraordinary circumstances, when access to a wide range of digital banking experiences suddenly became necessary for everyone.

Today, financial institutions should take steps to ensure their COVID-era digital transformation efforts are successfully unlocking the opportunities that digital banking can provide – including increasing digital engagement, growing customer acquisition and wallet share, and lowering costs through increased efficiencies. That means working to improve consumer journeys, personalize interactions and modernize experiences with real-time data, automation tools and AI, to name a few.

At Fiserv, we’re helping clients accelerate their digital roadmaps and meet consumer and small business needs through a simple financial digital ecosystem we call Experience Digital. It enables institutions to pursue the path that best meets their transformation objectives, with a range of turnkey solutions that can be configured to individual institution needs. 

Experience Digital accelerates time to market with:

• Digital journeys mapped to real-world needs
• A simple ecosystem that unites the very best in digital financial experiences
• Best-in-class technology solutions trusted for security, resilience and reliability
• Complementary groups of data-rich and intelligent tools

The comprehensive scope of Experience Digital offers many advantages. But, before financial institutions can effectively use these cutting-edge digital solutions (or solutions from any provider) they should re-examine their strategies and tailor them for true, enterprisewide digital transformation.

 

What factors can lead to transformation success? Our 10,000 financial institution clients give us a unique vantage point to understand how organizations are most effectively moving from the rapid – and sometimes reactive – deployment of the last four years to forward-looking digital strategies designed to meet consumers’ evolving needs.

Our clients who initiated successful digital transformations, from community banks and credit unions to large financial institutions, have observed these common principles:

Empower your people. Encouraging employees to try new technologies and take ownership of transformation initiatives cultivates internal champions and accelerates progress. This is often led by a digital visionary – a chief digital officer or chief experience officer – who can paint the picture of what great looks like, and who can help celebrate when your teams get it right for your customers or members.

Be clear about your needs and approach. The pandemic forced many organizations to roll out digital capabilities quickly, which meant spending less time understanding the basics. If you haven’t yet done so, take time to regroup. Revisit the planning process and address key questions, such as:

• What key customer touchpoints can be simplified and improved with digital transformation?
•  What organizational interdependencies and coordination are necessary to achieve our goals?
•  What benefits do we expect, and how can we measure them?

Adopt a mobile-first mindset. According to Fiserv 2023 consumer trends research, Expectations & Experiences: Financial Outlook, seven in 10 consumers use a mobile device to conduct day-to-day banking transactions, and 76% of consumers have used a person-to-person payments app. Nearly half (49%) use mobile wallets to pay for items. Younger generations (Gen Z and millennials) find mobile wallets to be twice as secure and three times as convenient as do baby boomers.

These are not outliers. Consumer sentiment is solidly trending toward mobile and, in some cases, mobile only.

The implication? Every touchpoint you choose to focus on in your digital transformation efforts should include a mobile solution. This is just as important for small and midsized institutions as it is for large ones. 

Seek expertise from a trusted partner. As financial institutions look to transition their quick-turn digital offerings to long-term digital transformation strategies, they are turning to expert partners, such as Fiserv. A single financial institution generally doesn’t have all the resources and technology at their disposal in-house to carry out a successful digital transformation. As we’ve said, our Experience Digital platform can help your institution execute your digital strategy on all fronts.

 

Where to start

Once your digital strategy is in place, here are some digital experiences to consider:

Card management

Make it quick and easy for users to get a new card, use it digitally or physically, manage it on the go and understand spending habits.

For example: Cornhusker Bank recently transformed their debit card platform with CardHub, enabling everything from digital onboarding and rapid card replacements to transaction alerts and self-service card management – all at a lower cost and fewer service calls for the bank.

Digital payments

Provide simple and fast access to a range of digital payment options users need – from bill pay and person-to-person tools like Zelle^® to account-to-account transfer options.

For example: When the Milford Bank rolled out Zelle^®, employees immediately adopted it, which quickly translated to customer adoption. “The speed and ease-of-use of Zelle^® has been positively received by customers," Jorge Santiago, the bank’s executive vice president, explained. "As one customer said to our Call Center, ‘This is too easy’.”

Money management

Help users manage budgets, track spending and access the financial management support they need.

For example, FinLocker chose the AllData Aggregation platform to help lenders create a digital borrowing process. But it found a larger opportunity in consumer engagement by seeing a bigger picture of consumer behavior.

Open finance

Emerging services are playing an important role in your accountholders’ financial lives, and fintech services are changing how new capabilities are delivered.

For example, Fiserv has partnered with trusted platforms to deliver solutions including AI, crypto and more, to round out your accountholders’ financial experience.

Account/loan origination

Enable consumers and small business customers to start the process of opening a new account or applying for a loan and mortgage through any digital channel, in a simple and intuitive way.

For example: Northwest Bank saw the importance of digital transformation in customer acquisition. Between 2021 and 2022, the bank increased digital account openings by 173% with Deposit Director Flex, designed to support end-to-end mobile applications and a consistent online experience across channels.
 

Preparing for what’s next

Consumers and businesses will always expect financial institutions to adapt to the ways they live and work today – and anticipate what they need tomorrow. Financial institutions that can successfully execute their visions for digital engagement will gain the most momentum.

Fiserv is here to help. Experience Digital is a reflection of our commitment to continually evolve our offerings to help you stay ahead of emerging technologies, marketplace developments and changing consumer expectations.

Learn how to move forward in your digital journey.