What do Canadians want from their banks? According to networking vendor Cisco Systems’ Customer Experience Report on retail banking, they want more privacy, more security and more personalized service. And probably fewer egg management fees, although that wasn’t covered by the report.
According to the global report, consumers are willing to exchange more details about their financial habits and have banks be more active as financial advisors in exchange for greater protection from identity theft, more personalized service and greater simplicity in managing their finances. They’re also increasingly willing to go virtual, with 71 per cent saying they’d be comfortable using virtual communications to supplement in-personal financial conversations.
Drilling down into the Canadian numbers, 79 per cent of Canadian consumers want more simplified personal banking services. What services? Over 75 per cent wanted more identity theft security, advice to increase their savings and more financial education, while more than half wanted to know how their finances compare to their peers.
When it comes to security, some 55 per cent of Canadian consumers said they’d be willing to give the bank biometrics, such as fingerprints, to help secure their accounts from identity theft, compared to 61 per cent globally. And while 62 per cent of Canadian consumers would give their bank more personal information to make it easier to manage their finances, 69 per cent wouldn’t want that information shared outside the bank, even if it would improve quality of service.
Regarding those virtual conversations, 55 per cent of Canadians said they’d be willing to secure a loan or mortgage using video technology. And they’d want to do it on their desktop or laptop, with only 25 per cent preferring a smartphone video conversation.
“This report reveals that consumers want more personalized services that ease how they manage their finances and are willing to provide banks with more private information in exchange for these enhanced services,” said Al Slamecka, marketing manager for financial services with Cisco, in a statement. “Banks that take advantage of this opportunity to improve customer centricity to deliver more personalized services that will not only capture wallet share but also strengthen trust and loyalty to their brand with their customers.”
