Teenagers. Who knows what they want? They do…

Guest blog post by Harrison Roberts (currently doing work experience at FStech)

Teenagers often read articles written by experts, who are a few decades away from the people they are supposedly representing, about what they want from their banks. Maybe these experts know what they’re talking about (to be fair they probably do) but the people that really know what teenagers are looking for are, quite obviously, teenagers.

So here we have it, a blog post about what teenagers want from banking, written by a teenager. Firstly I do not pretend to be expressing the thoughts of the entire teenage species, just my thoughts. A lot of people seem to believe that young people wish to have any and all information fired at them through social media such as Facebook or Twitter, however this is not entirely true in areas such as banking. I can see the idea; social media is a simple and easy way to contact a massive audience (average of over 4,000 followers for biggest banks) at no cost. However as a teenager, I would log on to Twitter to follow what various celebrities had for breakfast. I wouldn’t think of searching to see what Barclays’ most recent hashtag has been. Social media has its purpose, and that purpose isn’t banking.

Another common misconception is that if a teenager cannot do whatever it is they want to do on their phone, then they simply will not do it. Mobile banking is very useful and is becoming a necessity in the modern world. According to an online and mobile banking report by Online Financial Innovations, “We are almost at the peak of online access, with just one million new online households added last year, the fewest annual total since internet banking came on the scene in 1995. The growth going forward will almost all be on the mobile front.”

Despite this, I do feel that face-to-face, ‘in-store’ meetings with an actual human can often be just as, if not more, helpful and convenient as using your mobile or PC. Perhaps the use of technologies like kiosks or even iPads in branches would reinvigorate branch banking and would stop in their tracks those who say that the end is nigh for the High Street?

Cross channel challenges

Banks with multi-channel aspirations must shake off old ways of working and start acting more like start ups. And they have much to learn from retailers in this respect. That was one of the messages to come from the FStech Multi-Channel Banking Conference, which took place in London yesterday.

 

Featuring contributions from the likes of Barclays, HSBC, Santander, BNP Parabas, Consult Hyperion, Ovum and Intellect and chaired by Practicology's Martin Newman, the conference looked at how banks are progressing in terms of multi-channel strategies and delivering the consistent service needed to engage and retain customers.  

 

A big thank you to all our speakers and panellists and sponsors, Perforce and Transversal, plus analyst partner Ovum, for helping to make it a really good day; there was lots of lively debate on such topics as mobile banking, future challenges of mobile banking, multi-channel banking security, improving the customer experience and social media. Thanks also to Martin Newman who did a great job as chairman.

 

A full review of the conference will appear in the July/August edition of FStech magazine, available early August.  

Everybody was multi-channel banking!

Apologies, terrible heading, I know...Anyhoo, last minute plug for the FStech Multi-Channel Banking Conference, taking place tomorrow at the IoD Hub, London.

I'm reliably informed that there are a few delegate places remaining, so if you're in London tomorrow and fancy catching up on all things multi-channel banking-related, you can register to attend here.

Chaired by Practicology's Martin Newman, the conference will look at how banks are progressing in terms of multi-channel strategies and delivering the consistent service needed to engage and retain customers. It will also highlight the latest technology solutions available to institutions looking to achieve multi-channel success.

There will be speakers/panellists from the likes of Barclays, HSBC, Santander, BNP Parabas, Ovum and Intellect. The conference agenda can be found at: http://www.fstech.co.uk/conference/agenda.php 

Hopefully see you there!

Do you have a flight recorder on your website?

Guest blog post by John Thompson, CEO, User Replay

Commercial aircraft have carried flight recorders for over 50 years. These devices do not prevent crashes directly, but their invaluable data enables technical bugs to be fixed, improving safety for us all. Knowing what actually happened also resolves disputes about liability and compensation. Like a damaged airplane, a crashed website cannot talk back, and often leaves few clues as to what happened. When a web transaction goes wrong this lack of audit trail creates disputes, particularly on financial services sites where transactions may have significant value.

Similarly, if a recording is made of all user interactions with a website, errors can be found and fixed. Bugs on sites often go unreported, but they damage conversion rates and customer experience significantly. Who has not been scared away by a 404 error? Bugs can be very elusive and hard to replicate because they are often triggered by a complex combination of circumstances. It is therefore important to record them at the time they happen so they can be replayed both visually in screen shots and at the level of the underlying code.

A recording of web journeys also helps with disputes. “Yes you did buy the fund that went down, and here is a slide show of screenshots of you doing it.” We wouldn’t contemplate not recording telephone conversations when selling financial products, or having a bank branch without a CCTV, but we are happy to trade millions through websites with only the most rudimental log files recording events.

Recording all transactions on a website is now relatively straight forward technologically. The technology is known as ‘session replay’ and there are a number of excellent vendors. In Econsultancy’s 2012 Report on Customer Struggle, 57 per cent of respondents recognised that session replay is very effective but only 17 per cent had it implemented on their sites. Maybe session replay is a technology whose time has come?

Certainly Cofunds has achieved great results with this technology as you can see here: http://www.userreplay.com/resources/cofunds_case_study

New to FStech: videocasts

FStech has launched a new videocast series in which we wax lyrical on all things financial sector technology-related.

To kick things off, I give my take on the war against cash.

You can watch the video here.

Hope you enjoy it!

Contactless on the box

Visa is once again shouting about the many merits of contactless. This week has seen it launch a new TV advertisement across 19 European countries.

Not sure about the ad. Doesn't really work for me. Aren't old people funny? Queen's a bit of an obvious choice for the soundtrack, no? And to quote a colleague I just showed it to: I don't understand. It's stupid.

You can watch it here.

Google Glass: your wearable bank

Guest blog post by David Webber, managing director, Intelligent Environments 

Imagine walking into your favourite clothes shop and as you do so a simple screen, which only you can see, appears inside your peripheral vision. As you step across the shop’s threshold, several options pop-up on the screen. These vary from the shop’s new clothing range, items on sale and your bank balance. Whilst browsing the clothes rack, you spot an item you’d like. You wink to access your online bank account and check your current account balance. This allows you to instantly decide whether you can afford the item, or wait until next month…

This isn’t some ‘minority report’ style look at the future: it’s a snapshot of how we will be interacting with our banks within 12 months. The ground-breaking wearable technology, Google Glass, a computer integrated into a pair of spectacles, promises to re-define our relationship with the digital world. Using touch controls and voice recognition, it will allow users to capture photos and videos, view emails, use apps and surf the web on the move. It marks a fundamental shift towards a more digitally connected future. And it has big implications for financial service providers.

New research by Intelligent Environments reveals that 16 per cent of British consumers are already interested in using Google Glass to manage their finances, without even seeing or testing a working prototype. This figure rises to 26 per cent for 18 to 24 year olds; which means once the technology is available to buy banks will need to ensure they have a clear idea of how to extend their digital banking experience to wearable technology. We’re already seeing an increase in multi-channel banking with mobile banking apps for smartphones and tablets, alongside online web browser banking. The challenge for the financial services industry will be to ensure the experience between all platforms from web browser to smart TV and Google Glass, is seamless.

Of course, security will be a big issue. A debate, still raging among mainstream commentators, focuses on the security and privacy implications of Google Glass. Similarly, financial sector firms will need to consider how privacy of financial transactions can be maintained if they’re taking place on a wearable technology platform, on the move. Providers will need to have a sophisticated security system in place which works across all banking platforms and can deal with the potential vulnerabilities presented by Google Glass. However, what’s clear is that it and the products it will inevitably inspire will open up a new and thrilling world for digital banking. I can’t wait to own the UK’s first pair and explore the possibilities for financial institutions and their customers.