Skip to main content

Make Sure to Ask About Custom Experiences on Your Next RFP

Published Date
Author Richard Maddox

In this third blog in our digital banking RFP series, the focus is on personalization. We’ll discuss why custom experiences and tailored services are – and will continue to be – important to the success of your financial institution (FI). In the competitive banking environment FIs face, and amid an uncertain economy, Q2 wants to help you ask the best questions to find the best vendor to help bring the right experiences and services to each of your account holders.

Personalization makes for happier banking and a healthier bottom line
It’s not hyperbole: Your FI’s future may be one predicated on the ability to offer custom experiences and tailored solutions. Consumers of all ages and businesses of all sizes expect their FI’s digital banking to offer the same ease of use meeting their specific needs as provided by other leading online platforms like Amazon, Shopify, LinkedIn, or Coursera.

Consumers. Whether younger or older, consumer account holders want quick, engaging digital banking that reflects their “wants” and puts data learning to work to offer suggestions about services and solutions based on who they are and where their lives are heading. A failure to meet their preferences may lead to an exodus from your FI – it may be a low-volume ping on your radar now, but it will become louder and more frequent.

Recent surveys and reporting bear this out. More than 80% of Gen Zers have identified personalization as a feature that could deepen their financial relationships (Ernst & Young). Millennials – mostly all digitally native, fast becoming the majority in the workforce, and in need of financial guidance (particularly when it comes to student loan debt) – continue to seek personalization from their FIs. However, their loyalty only goes so far in these days of fintech options (Financial Brand, ABA).

Even before the pandemic, 60% of Baby Boomers (Statistica) engaged in online banking. With their increased digital activity comes an increased need for tailored solutions as many will continue to work while also facing emerging needs related to family dynamics (Forbes) – i.e., assisting in the financial needs of aging parents and their children entering adulthood. The FI that can deliver on their requirements digitally will open more opportunities.

Businesses. When it comes to businesses, 95% of commercial banking clients (Capgemini) who use digital retail banking services expect the same for their businesses. This is a sentiment now running across all businesses, from micro types to large corporations.

The pandemic thrust digital banking into an even more important role in meeting their needs. From this collective experience has come a mobile-first banking preference with ease of use and required business features.

As FI panelists at a recent Q2 event concurred: Make it easier for businesses when they bank with you. Offer self-service and make the credit application process less arduous using automation. The panelists, from both small and large FIs, added that frontline and back-office data must be leveraged to effectively tailor offerings.

Five Questions to Ask
Putting technology and data to work in smarter ways can create the experiences that lead to new relationships that can be nurtured over time. There are digital vendors that have surpassed others in this area, and the questions your FI asks will help delineate the best- from the least-suited to move you forward.

These are five important questions to consider:

1. Do you place a precedence on user experience (UX) for both consumers and businesses?
2. Is there intelligent technology to deliver dynamic personalization to account holders?
3. How committed are you to innovation such as API integration to meet business customer need?
4. Are there data and analytics technologies available such as machine learning to produce actionable insights that further positive experiences and relationships?
5. Does your platform have multilingual support across all channels?

Besides the five questions listed, there are more provided in our Your Digital Banking RFP Evaluation Guide and Checklist.

If your organization is like many others that Q2 has engaged with, it’s probably been a while since your last RFP. We hope this blog series is of assistance as your FI prepares for a new one. The next blog – the fourth in this five-blog series – will look at what to ask when it comes to security.