INTELLIGENT VERTICAL: BANKING & FINANCE
Rupert Spiegelberg, CEO, IDnow
confidence to the end of the sign-up process
will be rewarded with a closed deal and
a happy customer. But online banking is
governed by special regulations, such as the
Know Your Customer (KYC) standards set out
in the EU’s Third Anti-Money Laundering
Directive. This means that handling online
transaction processes in the financial sector
is considerably more challenging than it is
for retail.
KYC and regulations like it mean that
financial institutions must verify their
customers’ identities appropriately and this
significantly increases the number of steps
in the transaction process, making the online
signup process quite extensive. As a result,
customers seeking to open a bank account
online find that they are required to provide
considerably more sensitive information
than they would, say, when shopping online.
Customers of the Now Economy:
price-conscious and discerning
There are many factors that lead to
customers abandoning an application
process and these tend to vary depending on
the customer profile, the type of transaction
they are looking to carry out and other, more
personal considerations.
If customers discover, for example, that
they are required to visit a physical location
to confirm their identity at the end of the
verification process, the extra effort needed
for this is likely to cause millennials – a
demanding customer group – to abandon
the process.
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At the opposite end of the spectrum, older
people are often inherently mistrustful about
sharing sensitive information online and are
more likely to abandon a transaction at the
first obstacle due to security fears. The lesson
for banks lies in recognising that customers
are not simply looking for the best-priced
product; they also attach significant value
to a signup process that offers maximum
convenience and confidence in the security.
Indeed, onboarding should be as flexible and
frictionless as possible. When customers see
the speed, ease, security and convenience
you demonstrate during onboarding, their
positive perception of your brand – as well as
the likelihood they will become a customer –
is reinforced.
Building online trust: authentication
by videochat
In January 2017, the financial market
authority created a way of addressing this
problem: it authorised the use of video
identification procedures as a valid method
of authentication in the financial sector.
These semi-automated procedures, which
are usually offered in the form of Software-
as-a-Service (SaaS), significantly enhance
cost efficiency for the provider, while
simultaneously ensuring that customers
have a convenient, user-friendly experience.
The application begins by providing
the customer with a brief and simple
explanation of the identification process
and, using video chat, a support worker then
takes the customer through the various
steps in the online procedure. Any questions
that arise can be answered immediately
and this real-time dialogue with a human
being boosts customer confidence in the
process. In addition, this semi-automated
approach accelerates the onboarding
process, enabling companies to increase
their customer conversion rates. However, in
order to be successful, the following points
should be taken into account when choosing
an identification solution:
1. Availability on all end devices
Some customers will want to sign up
on their desktop, others on their phone.
Banks should try to find a solution that
supports all devices, so as to not alienate
any potential customers
2. Integration capability
Switching to a separate app from
an unknown service provider for
the identification process can make
customers hesitant and may result in
abandonment. Integrating the solution
into the company’s application interface
so that the process continues seamlessly
creates confidence and makes it more
likely that the customer will see the
process through to the end.
3. Supporting ID documents worldwide
More and more people are now
spending time abroad. If customers
are unable to open an account with
a bank because the authentication
solution cannot handle their ID
documents, customer satisfaction is
at risk. If, however, the company can
handle such issues quickly and easily, it
is likely that customers will turn to the
bank for other services in future and
even recommend it to colleagues and
friends. As customer groups become
increasingly international, it is essential
for companies to consider a solution that
supports all ID documents
4. Data security
Regulatory standards like GDPR require
the use of sensitive personal data to
be controlled. End customers, too, are
increasingly emphasising the importance
of being able to request information on
how their data is being processed and
stored. Transparency and the ability to
obtain information about the verification
process is becoming increasingly
important. Banks should therefore
ensure that they choose an identification
solution that gives them full control of
the data collected from their customers
5. High-quality support
High-quality, friendly advice is an
important factor in online business. This
means that the chosen identification
solution needs to offer a variety of
language options. Depending on the
company and the customer structure,
it may also make sense to employ
advisers with a knowledge of various
languages, possibly including some less
common ones
By integrating a verification application into
their online signup processes, banks can
dramatically reduce the amount of customer
signup fails. The right verification application
will instil trust in the customer and make the
onboarding process smoother, so that both
customers and banks can reap the rewards
of the online banking process. n
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