09/22/2020

COVID and Banking in the New Era: Can Banks Ride the Wave After Decades of Creating It?

PaymentsJournal

While some predicted that “Big Tech” would be the catalyst that transformed consumer behavior in the banking industry, the truth is that banking has already been cruising toward digital transformation – a global pandemic greatly accelerated it. Once physical branches were forced to shutter and consumer concern over physical touch points began to rise, digital banking became the primary consumer resource as mobile banking traffic rose 85% with a 200% jump in new mobile banking registrations in early April.

In addition to traditional mobile banking enrollments skyrocketing, some of the industry’s most popular digital disruptors like PayPal, CashApp and SoFi also took full advantage of the pandemic-induced wave of virtual money management, with CashApp enabling its users to receive their stimulus funds directly through their mobile app.

The pandemic has pushed the “fast forward” button on digital transformation, and now is the time for banks to ride the wave. However, as digital banking emerges as the primary banking method for many Americans and the physical branch takes a back seat to its virtual counterpart, the path to a completely frictionless user experience is still unclear. With financial fraud increasing exponentially and customers expecting a seamless experience as they navigate all financial functions in a remote world, banks need to upscale their services and operations to ensure they do not get left behind the virtual curve. 

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