Which trends will define the banking sector in 2023? What are the innovation challenges facing the financial industry in the future? The publication The Financial Brand, in its article Top Retail Banking Innovation Trends for 2023, highlights that “the future of retail banking innovation has the foundation of internal and external data, advanced analytics, digital technologies and new delivery alternatives. Winners will be defined by how well they can rethink back-office operations and whether organizational leaders can embrace change. This also requires a shift from a product orientation to a consumer-centric culture.”
The sector must continue to focus on innovation in order to remain a key player in the financial system. But not at any price. The consultancy firm Deloitte agrees with The Financial Brand on the need for banking innovation to focus on improving the customer experience in its analysis of banking trends for the coming years:
- “Customer-Centric” Digitalization: Many banks are still working on strategies to implement new technologies and to stay consistent in the market. Banks need to change their traditional approach and create customer-centric experiences that are omni-channel and digitally focused. As the consultancy says, “technology will continue to be the driver of business growth and central to delivering a wide range of services through strong customer experience”.
- Digital And Emerging Technologies: Being at the forefront of new and emerging digital technologies is essential to implement an optimal digital transformation. Technologies such as the cloud have changed the financial industry, and have made banks abandon their heavy legacy systems in order to remain competitive. In 2023, cloud implementation will continue to be valuable to banks, and therefore financial institutions must invest in upgrading their existing structures and architectures.
- Data Integrity And Analysis: Banks must innovate in their ways to deliver a better client experience, and data is key to creating new customer-focused strategies. User data is the foundation for making smart decisions that generate high business impact and customer retention. “Using data analytics technology to detect customer needs helps banks deliver a meaningful value proposition, and greater business impact. Leveraging every transactional user event allowing banks to be proactive, consistent, and in touch with the customer, is innovation,” affirms Juliana Ortiz, Customer Success Manager at Latinia.
- Business Agility: Banks must realise that the competitive advantage today is not about being big, but about being fast and bold with digital transformation. Banks need to embrace this change, and seize the opportunities it provides to accelerate innovation in smaller, more agile cycles.
- Leveraging Platforms And Monetizing Data: Improving the customer experience is the main driver for banks to advance in their digital transformation, as well as in the design of strategies that enable the optimization of products and services as customers want them. “Data analytics enables banks to offer a more personalized and customized experience. At Latinia, our subscription engines allow the user to decide what, when and how to be notified, improving their experience and allowing banks to know which services are most popular and relevant to their users,” explains Latinia’s Customer Success Manager.
- Collaborations And Synergies With Third Parties: Fintechs and big techs continue to expand in the financial services ecosystem, and banks must work on partnership strategies with these new players to integrate new products and services into their portfolio. As The Financial Brand explains, “the speed of deployment of innovation solutions is more important than ever as the banking ecosystem is evolving faster each year” and adds, “it is important to look for firms that align with your core values and the key focus of your innovation agenda”.
- Protecting CyFi Users: Cybercriminals are adopting new ways to commit digital crimes, and for this reason banks must implement advanced technologies to protect their users, taking action as to not compromise the reputation of their institutions. Artificial intelligence will be an important technological trend to detect and manage these threats efficiently. Banking cybersecurity is one of the biggest challenges facing the industry: in addition to the need to address this threat with agility, banks must make the customer feel protected at all times. “Latinia’s real-time alert services are the perfect companion to fraud alert notification processes, as they increase the client’s perception of security,” concludes Juliana Ortiz.
