Love Hate relationship with banks and customers is continuing. Let me explain the Indian scene. A decade back we only had banks…any payments it had to be routed through the banks… there was no other institution or method for it. So it entailed long waits in queue and filling of big forms. Have had instances when to finish a bank job a work day had to be bunked. Not that we were complaining! It was yet another excuse to bunk work those times 🙂
The Banking transactions those times can be considered non-dynamic and rigid with compliances. Everybody was looking for a change. Thus some disruptors brought about some tools which reduce these vows. Few of them were Prepaid instruments like gift cards or traveller cards, which was more relevant to the urban population. But these instruments had a null user experience. In the same time frame, Agency banking was introduced for providing banking to a rural audience. Which bring about the concept of #FinancialInclusion to fore. with this move, a lot of unbanked came into banking fold.
Now people got used to the convenience of transacting without cash. With Kenya in fore, #Fintech advancements were rampant. One of the solutions which were considered pioneer and proven was Digital Wallets. Digital wallet was developed on Lean technologies. To make it attractive to urban public it had offer Deals and UX. For the rural public what it had in offer was service aggregation(In form of electricity, bill payments, et.al), financial services for example money transfer, reachability in far corners.
This solution became so popular that the market thronged with wallet providers and people started to move and park huge amounts to wallets which were yet another awakening threat to banks, as it hit their floats.
First change which bank did to bring about a change, was to adopt leaner technologies. #Digitisation and technology oriented solutions always have been game changers in every churn. Banks started to get innovative and provide solutions which have solutions like a wallet. So the service aggregation, UX came into their fold too. The newer solutions which banks are coming out brought together FinancialInclusion and Experience, which was missing in the banking sector.
With this innovative technologies, the extra hop (transfer of money into a wallet) can be eliminated. Now banks provide you with Applications which you can do every transaction with few clicks. Thus the float which used to be parked in wallet without earning interest is eliminated
For a rural audience of the bank, with these innovative solutions, secure and trusted transactions was re-emphasized. The interest which the customer earned is also his.
Thus Wallet which was burning money on deals, marketing and distribution system, which was investor money is also saved. It can reroute to the funding of AI, ChatBots and Social Impact projects.
Here a reference to Chris Skinner commentary on how the banks can be control freaks: Can banks change their control freak cultures?