Is Your Digital Tech Stuck in the Past?
In the world of digital financial tech, we've undergone two "Great Leaps Forward" in the last few years – so if you've updated your tech during this rapidly changing time, where did you land among the competition?
Here’s how Advisors Plus gauges the performance of clients' mobile tech – then sets a course for a modern experience to meet consumer expectations today and into the future.
Here's what you'll learn:
- How societal changes compelled the industry to evolve at such a rapid pace
- How financial institutions’ mobile technology is benchmarked using the ACE Scoring Model
- What technological capabilities are considered "core" versus "differentiators" when it comes to meeting the needs of today's and tomorrow's consumers
Over the last decade, financial institutions have experienced two major leaps forward in the move from in-person to online banking. The first was driven by necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic; the second – and ongoing – leap has been driven by competition and fueled by both consumer expectations and technological advances.
If you’ve updated your tech during this rapidly changing time, where did you land in a competitive landscape that is continuously moving forward?
Great Leap No. 1: COVID Necessity and Convenience
Up until the 1960s, banking was largely an in-person activity. That started to change when ATMs came onto the scene – then again with the introduction of the internet. Between 2000 and 2010, leading financial institutions made it possible to access bank information, such as balances and loans, from the convenience of their computers, then via mobile apps that made banking possible from virtually anywhere.
More recently, the face of digital banking changed radically. As the COVID-19 pandemic kept consumers from interacting face-to-face, the industry saw a substantial increase in mobile wallet use. By 2023, year-over-year growth in digital payment activity, for both transactions and purchases, outpaced growth in physical card activity.
This first Great Leap Forward in digital activity was originally due to necessity – but even as brick-and-mortar branch locations opened back up, consumers were hooked on the convenience of mobile banking – leading to the second, more recent Great Leap Forward.
Great Leap No. 2: We’re In It!
The second Great Leap Forward started in 2024 and continues today. With rapid advances in technology and AI, this leap is defined by personalization, vendor innovation and the demand for advanced self-service tools.
If you work in the banking industry, you’ve likely been deep in the pursuit of the latest tech to meet the expectations of Gen Z and, increasingly, all generations of consumers. But how do you know where your financial institution stands?
Benchmark Your Bank
The team at Advisors Plus works with this issue every day, for a front-row seat to these most recent Great Leaps Forward in digital banking. Financial institutions want to know if their digital offerings are effective and what they can do to be more competitive, so the team helps them do that using the ACE Scoring Model developed by Curinos, a tool for benchmarking digital capabilities across three aspects – Action, Communication and Experience. Within each aspect, they identify core features vs. differentiators that identify innovators from the rest.
Of course, digital capabilities are always evolving – but for a snapshot of today’s core vs. differentiator capabilities, here’s a general overview of ACE measurements you can use to benchmark your own financial institution:
A = Action: The Foundation of Digital
The Action measurement looks at basic digital capabilities that users expect when they go to their financial institution’s online banking platform.
CORE: Established Action Features
Payment hub
Funding via external accounts
Estimated bill payment delivery display
Change or reset PIN
Report lost or stolen card
Digital wallet
Transaction enrichment
Live chat
DIFFERENTIATORS: Emerging Action Features
Aggregate external accounts
Virtual assistants completing payments
Additional languages
Home screen account activity visualization
Advanced card management
Set up additional virtual card
C = Communication: Self-Service with Leading-Edge Support
The second measurement in the ACE Scoring model is Communication: a financial institution’s ability to assist users as they navigate the digital banking application.
CORE: Essential Help Capabilities
Adaptive FAQs
Contact email or telephone support
Product promotions on the home screen
Live chat
Prompts to try app features
Report lost or stolen card
Links to help with unrecognized transaction
DIFFERENTIATORS: Interactive Support
Virtual assistants for everyday tasks
Additional languages
Marketing preferences
E = Experience: Personalized, Empowered and Embedded
Experience is defined as a financial institution’s ability to make the user journey easy and intuitive. Consumers have come to expect digital banking platforms that do more than simply accomplish a range of financial tasks. Instead, they expect fully personalized, empowered experiences that are embedded into daily life activities, provided by intelligent and trustworthy service companions.
CORE: Simplicity and Control
Pre-login widgets
Biometric login
Home screen quick links
Aggregated account balance
Request split payments
Statement access
Change PIN
DIFFERENTIATORS: Advanced UX and Connections
Digital assistants, chatbots
Direct deposit switching
Smart assistant payments
Enable/disable payments by type
Recurring savings/round-ups
See ACE in Action!
These benchmarks are just one facet of the ACE Scoring Model. The team also looks at various implementations from digital banking providers (spoiler alert: two banks working with the same provider – Alkami, Candescent, Lumin Digital, Q2, etc. – may end up with vastly different digital banking capabilities.)
For more details, take a look at the latest white paper from Advisors Plus, The ACE Advantage: Improving Digital Banking Experiences, to see how Action, Communication and Experience translate into modern banking experiences.