NCR: Financial Institutions Will Need To Continue Innovating

In “A Look Forward: What Executives Wish for America and the World in 2021,” Doug Brown, senior vice president and general manager, NCR Digital Banking, discusses how financial institutions should evolve to remain relevant and build customers’ trust. “Looking ahead, banks and credit unions must go beyond just cross-selling and focus on building trust with individualized tools and guidance,” said Brown.

I am simply amazed at how well my team, my clients and the industry pulled together in 2020 to conquer significant business and societal challenges. As a result, our communities have grown stronger and I think we have a newfound sense of confidence in our ability to handle change. What I hope we bring with us from 2020 is a positive and caring attitude for all with a passion for continued positive change. As it relates to banking and the financial ecosystem, we passed a real-world extreme stress test. From spinning up the ability to process Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans in days, to executing projects four times faster than usual, to working 100 percent remote, leadership teams had to pivot, learn and adapt on the fly. It’s been a year of rapid change.

As digital took center stage for much of 2020, banks and credit unions operated in a much more dynamic model. Customer experience transcended channels, and we all learned to harness the organization and technology to connect experiences with customers in a more profound way. As banks continue to accelerate their digital transformation roadmaps, de-channeling experience and providing a connected experience will be paramount.

The end-to-end integration of channels through to the back office will require an enterprise technology platform that allows institutions to be agile and respond quickly. The pandemic put a great deal of stress on millions of consumers and businesses. Layoffs swept across the country, and small businesses struggled to stay afloat. Consumers and businesses needed tools and advice to manage their financial situation — and this year has put a renewed focus on those needs. Data and personalization was the key to helping customers in 2020.

Looking ahead, banks and credit unions must go beyond just cross-selling and focus on building trust with individualized tools and guidance. 2020 has been a year of anxiety, stress, frustration and challenge. But it has also been a year of acceleration — giving financial institutions the chance to evolve and accelerate in ways they never thought possible.

In 2021, things aren’t going to slow down. If financial institutions want to remain relevant and provide the experiences their customers expect, they will need to continue moving at lightspeed. The institutions that revert to old ways of doing things will likely find themselves going the way of the dinosaurs.