The banking industry has shifted from being digitally resistant and paper-based to one where digital capabilities decide business destiny. The rise of digital banking can be considered one of the most significant developments in the world of banking.  

Research estimates 20.8% of retail purchases are expected to take place online in 2023. As more consumers and businesses adopt digital transactions, leveraging the right technologies becomes crucial for banks eager to stay relevant. The rise of the digitally savvy consumer, proliferation of technology, extreme market volatility, and complex and fast-evolving regulatory frameworks are also putting pressure on banks to become more nimble and agile.   

The Future of Customer Experience and the Changing Face of Banking 

Customer experience can be a powerful competitive differentiator. Research shows that improving customer experience can improve overall shareholder value by seven to ten percent. 2023 customer expectation trends for digital banking experiences highlight: 

• 72% of customers want immediate service, 
• 70% expect anyone they interact with to have full context, 
• 62% think experiences should flow naturally between both physical and digital spaces, 
• 62% agree that personalised recommendations are better than general ones. 

Today's bank customers understand what makes an outstanding digital customer experience thanks to companies like Apple, Amazon and Netflix. Banks are no longer competing against each other in the minds of their customers, they're competing against the best digital experience their customers have ever had. Experience-led growth needs the help of powerful digital technologies to deliver seamless, personalised, multi-channel, and secure banking experiences.   

The Impact of Changing Customer Expectations and Technology Evolution on Banking 

Changing customer expectations and technology evolution have led to a surge in new banking technologies that are re-conceptualising the banking industry. Today, forward-thinking banks are identifying ways and leveraging technologies to ensure digital interactions mimic in-person ones.  

At the same time, they also cannot ignore the challenges that these evolutions bring. Two of the most pressing challenges that banks need to navigate because of these shifts are: 

• Navigating the risk and fraud landscape, 
• Maintaining agility in a tough regulatory environment.  

As more consumers move to connected devices, digital transformation of back-end systems while improving risk management and internal capabilities to proactively detect fraud emerge as strategic priorities.  

Why Banks Need Digital Technologies to Drive Information Trust 

Technological advances in automation, advanced analytics, robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are making banking audits more fool-proof and fast. These technologies are also helping banks become more adaptable to a rapidly evolving digital and security landscape. 

Banks across Australia have been adopting Confirmation to enhance customer experience by automating the confirmation process while improving fraud and scam detection. Confirmation users such as Westpac Banking Corporation are transitioning into a ‘digital first’ bank to drive customer experience and improve market responsiveness. The platform is currently used by over 60 banks across Australia and is making significant inroads in the ANZ and APAC market to simplify this key audit process.  

Confirmation's consolidated process improves audit velocity and reduces it to a mere two days. It also helps auditors gain more confidence in the information provided by banks and allow them to help the bank manage risks better. 

Systems like Confirmation are becoming essential for banks as audit firms can be held liable if they fail to detect fraud or information anomalies. As such, a large majority of trailblazing banks in the ANZ and APAC region including ANZ, Bank of America, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase Bank, ING Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and many more are using Confirmation to make audit confirmations safer, faster, and easier. 

In Conclusion 

While the adoption of digital technologies has been in the making for a few years now, traditional banking mechanisms need an urgent upgrade in the wake of rising customer expectations. Digitally transformed processes no longer remain an exaggerated utility but are a necessity as customers expect excellent experiences from banking interactions. 

Connect with us to see how Confirmation can help banks improve their audit processes by ensuring timely and accurate data and greater information integrity.