Banking
More and more, customers value convenience, expect anytime, anywhere access to personal account information through a variety of channels, and rapidly lose patience with service providers offering disjointed customer experiences. What this means for banks, is that there has never been a better time to offer mobile banking services that not only provide a simple and intuitive means for customers to manage their finances, but also offer the opportunity for banks to reduce costs and improve customer relationships.
Mobile banking solutions provide rewarding relationships with customers on the move. Research shows that mobile banking or financial services consistently score in the top three services customers say they are willing to use with their mobile phones. Emulating the enormous success of Internet banking services, mobile customer self-service solutions can create value for banking customers in many ways.
Mobile banking extends the convenience of existing online services such as account balance information, funds transfer, bill payment and mini-statements by making them accessible from any mobile device. Combining other mobile services such as pro-active customer alerts on account activity or suspected fraud, provide for an improved customer experience and increased customer loyalty.
MobileAware provides mobile banking solutions that complement existing online banking services, extending customer care portals and banking applications to a wide variety of mobile devices. Customers can retrieve the same banking information as they would through a PC, but have the added benefit of accessing personal banking information when and where they choose. Mobile banking transactions are protected using the same security and privacy models adopted for Web-based transactions – typically, a secure socket layer is employed to protect banking transactions against eavesdropping, interference and "replaying".
Benefits
Mobile banking solutions offer a full range of benefits for financial institutions, ranging from reduced customer support costs to improved customer satisfaction and retention as well as revenue growth.
Most large banking call centres receive, on average, 9 million calls per year. McKinsey estimates the cost of a typical call centre transaction ranges from $8 - $10.
A recent Gartner Measurement study showed that an average contact centre deflects 16% of its contacts to phone-based automated self-service technology, with some high-performing companies achieving deflection rates of up to 50%. With typical IVR (Integrated Voice Response) calls averaging $0.95 per call, banks could reap cost savings of up to 45% by deflecting half of their calls to an IVR system.
A mobile self-service alternative to both call centre and IVR customer queries could reap even more cost savings. Bank-related customer support calls typically relate to routine banking enquiries, such as account balances, which are perfectly suited to a mobile self-service solution. Customer ROI studies have shown that MobileAware can reduce the cost of simple query resolutions or transactions by up to 95%. Added to that is a more satisfied customer base that is no longer faced with the frustrations of dealing with IVR systems, or waiting in line for the next available customer service representative.
Offering innovative, personalised mobile services can also assist banks to attract and retain customers. Mobile banking offers financial institutions the opportunity to target and acquire new customer segments that value mobility and real-time control of their finances, leading to increased customer growth and revenue.
