Bankers might soon have to take the final leap into digital banking, with over 70 percent of banking customers reporting a preference to an online application for opening checking accounts.
Many banks require customers to be physically present for opening a checking account, which is often the first point of connection between the bank and the customer. However, with more and more customers paying credit card bills and banking on their tablets and mobile phones, the customer expectation to avoid that first trip to bank has been on rise, a Javelin research report found.
In 2014, an increase in the number of Americans applying for various loans, investment accounts and credit cards on online and mobile channels was observed with over 60 percent of auto loans, mortgages and credit card applications filed on an online or mobile platform.
Complete digitization of the user-bank relationship would occur when there is a shift in consumer perception that leads them to believe that branches have an edge over online banking when it comes to protecting consumer data, according to the report.
“Financial institutions will win by ensuring that applicants feel the outcome was smooth and seamless even if they start the process in one channel and finish in another. Applicants should never have to start over from scratch,” said Mark Schwanhausser, director of omnichannel financial services at Javelin.
Among the surveyed base of 3,100 people, 69 percent of customers thought that banks have a data security edge over online transactions, while 60 percent preferred to visit a physical location for answers to their questions.
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