Customer service
Real-time video to meet the expectations
of hyper-connected banking customers
24/07/2020Web Master
Real-time video to meet the expectations
Table of contents
The rise of online banks is changing the overall perception of users on the bank. The digital transformation of banks has an important impact on users. With the increase of online banking services, the number of physical visits to bank branches continues to decline steadily. According to a report by the EFMA[1], by 2022 it is expected that visits to physical branches would drop from 8 to 3 per year.
Financial firms must adapt their services to these new uses and trends and one of the alternatives chosen by many banks is “Video Banking”.
The principle of Video Banking is to provide the best possible experience to online customers through real-time video technology. Financial services can offer their clients face-to-face experiences without leaving the comfort of their home, especially for important and complex services, such as investments, loans, insurance, private banking or wealth management services.
According to EFMA, 82% of banks offer or plan to offer Video Banking services.
The Video Banking on the Retail Banking
The bank advisor must remain a key point of contact between the bank and the client. A 2016 study of the French market conducted by BVA Group[2] showed that more than half of French customers still want to have a dedicated advisor in an agency, even though the majority of them say they are going there less and less because the multiplication of online services. Banks also need their advisers to bring advanced expertise on specific topics to really add value to a knowledgeable client. Indeed, customers today have a better understanding of banking products. They are able to search for information much more easily than before, by consulting external sites or by exchanging via social networks or forums. As a result, when customers go to an agency, they expect more from their advisor than simple credit simulations for example.
With this double expectation of proximity and expertise, it is difficult for a single advisor to cover all customer needs. The advisor can not be both an expert in credit or financial savings. The banks have started to implement an organizational model to answer this problem: the client has a principal advisor, because is the person who knows him/her well, and the advisor can refer the client to a specialist when there are specific needs that require more expertise (real estate credit, tax optimization, retirement preparation, financial savings, …).
This model requires more agility on the part of advisors. In this organization, the main advisor is the one who manages the relationship and the one who deals with the daily problems of the clients. The advisor is able either to answer their own needs or to direct them to experts on certain subjects.
This new way of organizing can be facilitated by the generalization of Video Banking. Thanks to the real-time video, the customer, the advisor and the specialist are all able to exchange transparently. Specialists will very often participate to the meeting on remote, because it is not possible to have in each agency a specialist of each field.
The Video Banking on the private banking
The increased requirements of hyper-connected customers also affect the Private Banking sector. The context of digitalization, the complexity of regulations and the competitive environment also force private banks to rethink their service offer and their distribution channels. Their customers, who are more mobile and volatile, often want to be more involved in the management decisions that concern them, ideally via a digital channel.
The emergence of new technologies is revolutionizing the relationship of private banking advisors with their clients. Examples of new tools are numerous. Many, however, have in common to deeply reorient the client-advisor relationship, to offer more collaboration and less asymmetry in the interactions.
Video Banking solutions are one of these new tools integrated into private banking practices. Thanks to webconferencing solutions, wealth management advisors are able to offer their clients regular video meetings that can be synchronized with their calendars, with collaborative tools and on secure platforms, reinforcing the relationship of trust with their customers and improve the efficiency of their investments.
Indosuez Wealth Management, videoconferencing in the daily life of the private banker
To meet the expectations of its customers and optimize the travel of its employees in the Regions, Indosuez has approached Apizee to offer a videoconferencing solution for meetings with Bankers, Bank experts and their clients.
Through videoconferencing, the Banker surrounded by experts exchanges in real-time with his clients through audio or video calls. Apizee also offers additional features that will facilitate remote relationships such as the ability to share the content of a document in real-time.
During a conference, all the exchanges and the information transit securely through the solution guaranteeing the confidentiality of the conversations.
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[1] EFMA, The Video Banking Revolution, 2018 (The EFMA is a non-profit association created in 1971 by bankers and insurers, specializing in the marketing and distribution of retail financial services)
[2] BVA Group, Observatoire 2016 de l’image des banques
