What is digital banking?
Digital banking is similar to online banking in that banking services are delivered over the internet. However, digital banking encompasses more than online banking, which focuses on digitizing certain core aspects of traditional banking, such as payment reminders and access to bank accounts. Digital banking, on the other hand, digitizes every aspect of banking products for customers of financial institutions. Digital banking revolves around the customer and meeting all of their digital banking needs.
Digital banking encompasses a large range of financial services. The core aspects of online banking, such as access to savings accounts and credit cards are a part of digital banking, but it expands on the services available to a customer. With digital banking, customers can complete mortgage applications, access financial consulting services, and even take firmer control of how their financial information is shared through the use of open banking. Digital banking is also flexible and easy to update, ensuring that financial institutions will always have the ability to implement changes and improvements based on new technology or customer feedback.
However, the benefits of digital banking are not just customer-facing. Digital banking can be helpful for financial institutions as well. Generally, digital banking solutions are designed by IT experts with the user experience in mind. This means that systems and functions will be designed so that the average customer can easily access services, such as their checking accounts, without frustration, thereby increasing their opinion of the financial institution. Additionally, institutions will have access to digital marketing solutions. Digital banks typically include the ability to collect data as customers utilize their services. Analyses can then be run on this data to identify trends. Financial institutions can then use this information to target specific segments of customers in the way that machine learning (ML) has identified as being the most effective for that group.
The benefits of digital banking for financial institutes include:
- Flexibility: Digital banking allows for open and adaptable software that can be tailored to meet the needs of each company. Rather than being stuck with a generic software system, companies can figure out what features are most necessary for them and implement them quickly. Additionally, digital banking allows for easy deployment of updates so that banks can make modifications as needed to address the changing desires of their customer base.
- Cloud-based services: Rather than having to rely on on-premises hardware and software, digital banking utilizes cloud platforms, meaning companies can host all of their software and services online. This allows for increased access to their services, as companies can choose to have their information duplicated across the globe to increase access and provide a backup of all information. By spreading their data and having backups, organizations can also ensure that they will not lose access to their services in the case of a catastrophic event.
- Customized solutions: Banks and financial institutions can choose to utilize automated artificial intelligence (AI) and ML analyses in order to customize solutions for individual customers. This means that the system can analyze a customer’s spending or saving habits, as well as the different digital banking services they access, in order to offer customized solutions and services to the customer. Additionally, companies can take aggregated data and analyze it to figure out how to market their services to particular client segments.