With a huge portion of the country’s assets held by just a few megabanks, competition among all of the remaining banks is extremely tight. From setting low rates and waiving fees to developing voice banking and other digital capabilities, banks today are making enormous efforts to see how they can make the biggest impact on attracting and retaining customers. For traditional banks, relationships are key and among younger generations especially, convenience is king. BAI recently found that while many industry leaders believe that low rates and fees are the driving force behind direct bank adoption, 19% of consumers reported convenience as the most important factor. BAI also found that Generation Z consumers cited quick transfers (57%) and faster payments (45%) as high priority. With so many services at one’s fingertips now (think Uber, Amazon Prime, DoorDash, and next-day delivery), banks need to focus on their digital capabilities and the customer experience in order to stay competitive and meet the demands of younger consumers.

We’ll share exactly how banks can survive and thrive in the face of these changing needs.

Leverage a More Convenient Process 

For many customers, their main interaction with their banks is when they sign up for an account, login to an online portal, or need to contact customer service to resolve an issue. In many instances, they will have to call your customer service line, wait on hold until someone is available, and only then will you be able to start truly addressing their needs. This scenario is just one example of a common process that is often annoying and clunky.

Other common scenarios include when a customer first opens an account or later applies for a loan. This is often a lengthy and complicated process for customers since they need to provide several documents, there is often little guidance from the bank, and a lot of it is paper-based. For new customers, an onboarding process like this can lead to negative first impressions that stick with them and may ultimately drive them to seek another provider.

Fortunately, banks can avoid this scenario, and many like it, by enhancing their digital capabilities. In doing so, there are a couple of key points to keep top of mind in order to provide users with a seamless digital experience. First, banks should use a “sending” technology rather than a “sharing” one when it comes to their file transfer system. With a “sharing” technology, both parties simultaneously exchange data, documents, and more. However, it requires that the end-users use a variety of things—such as a pin, password, login, application, or software—in order to join that “sharing” environment. Savvier banks these days are now using file “sending” technologies, which only requires one party to be on the system and allows the user to chat, sign, pull or push information, and more—all without creating friction in the customer’s experience by forcing them to create a pin, password, or account.

Another aspect that banks need to focus on is empowering a shorter time-to-resolution. When it comes to such a crucial and sensitive service such as banking, customers can easily get stressed. This is actually another way that a top-notch file transfer system can help. When your employees exchange information in order to resolve a customer’s needs, this process historically involves a lot of paper-pushing. Even for banks that are working with digital file transfer systems, some are difficult to use, which can cause employees to disregard any risk or compliance requirements and use email instead. This can then lead to data breaches, broken customer trust, and hefty fines. So, when deciding on a file transfer system in order to provide a fast and seamless customer experience, be sure to choose one that makes it a breeze for employees to file documents, manage them, and retrieve them. This is how banks will attract and retain millennials and the next generation of customers.

Customer Spotlight 

How High Plains Bank Improved Their Customer Service by Switching to Botdoc

High Plains Bank is a bank that has been serving its local Colorado community for over 100 years. With $145M of assets under management, 60 employees, and 4 branches, it was crucial for High Plains to make the most out of their file transfer system so they could unlock benefits throughout their organization. However, they were using a system that was clunky and leading to frustrated customers. ShareFile, the file transfer system, used a “sharing” technology that created unnecessary steps for employees and customers to use. High Plains also didn’t need to pay for document storage or all the additional folders and privileges that are part of ShareFile.

So what did they do?

They switched from Sharefile to Botdoc. High Plains saw how easy and secure it is to transfer all types of documents—pictures, driver’s licenses, loan documents—between itself and its customers so their customers could enjoy fast, reliable, and convenient services. The onboarding process was also immediate and simple. The Botdoc team set up High Plains’ account and completed the employee onboarding process in less than a week for all 60 of its employees.

Following Botdoc’s implementation, the High Plains team saw numerous benefits. First, they have been able to process more than 3x their traditional loan volume, including all required documentation for PPP. In addition, previous customers who sought assistance with PPP during COVID-19 commented that Botdoc was so easy to use that they would be returning to High Plains for future business because the process had improved so much. Furthermore, employees have shared tons of positive feedback regarding Botdoc. Below are just a few of their remarks:

“We can easily get the information needed from the customer to quickly create their account with no waiting on the customer’s end. No more back and forth over email or even regular mail! We can open accounts while on the phone with the customer.”

“Our technically challenged customers felt that returning the information we required to the bank was simple with Botdoc. This is usually the hardest part of the process and the Botdoc solution makes it one of the easiest.”

“I cannot recall one single customer who has used Botdoc that has had to call me and ask how it works.” – Director of Commercial Lending and PPP

“Botdoc changed my life!” – Loan officer

Bank Better with Botdoc

Botdoc is the first-ever easy, remote, and secure file transport service that works via text messaging and email with end-to-end encryption. Our solution is always simple to use because the consumer experience is everything to us. With Botdoc, you’ll close transactions at least 50% faster with no pins, no passwords, no logins, no accounts, no apps, and no software to download.