With the ability to modify, deploy and scale automated communications across channels seamlessly, financial institutions can rapidly meet clients' demands for digital experiences, significantly improving customer satisfaction. In addition to providing various customer-oriented features like real-time voice and messages, communication APIs can enable timely access to data and services, further enhancing customer experience (CX).

Developing an Omnichannel Strategy

Automation is pivotal to supporting this transformation, but so is developing a robust omnichannel strategy. Unfortunately, many still need to take the critical step from multiple channels to omnichannel. While the trends reveal that consumers favor completing most of their banking online through an app, plenty prefer face-to-face interactions for more complex issues. In fact, most telephone interactions are a mix of automated self-service features and live agents. Financial brands, therefore, must strive to synthesize digital and human channels for a complete omnichannel experience.

An ideal omnichannel strategy prioritizes CX, leveraging processes, tools and communications to create a seamless experience as customers travel across channels. The goal is to create an experience where customers don't need to repeat their banking needs or issues when they speak with a representative after already interacting with an automated chatbot. Communication APIs can help build an integrated CRM to enable the capture and utilization of customer data to personalize and enrich CX.

Examples of Automation Enhancing CX

Finserv brands already use automation capabilities via communication APIs to provide an omnichannel experience, reduce losses, use resources more efficiently and – most importantly – enhance CX. These AI-powered automation solutions, like chatbots, interactive voice response (IVR) and appointment schedulers, permit frictionless, 24/7 customer service interactions, including access to accounts and financial advice. Moreover, automation tools allow for personalization, which increases engagement and loyalty and creates more opportunities for up-selling and cross-selling.

Credit unions can offer automated SMS messaging for fast, efficient and easy member interactions. Text messages have a 209% higher response rate than phone, email and social, and can effortlessly send payment reminders, scheduling updates and account balance notifications. In the same way that chatbots and IVR make customers' lives more convenient, these solutions can assist the employees of financial institutions. By automating routine tasks, like balance inquiries or frequently asked questions, credit unions can take the strain off call agents, letting them focus their time and energy on more complicated projects.

Likewise, they can use AI, and by extension automation, to find irregularities in massive datasets to uncover insights and patterns that would usually get overlooked by humans to refine and enhance CX. Automation can also provide real-time analysis for possible risks, confirmation through email and voice recognition and security with PCT-complaint processing. Mastercard, for example, leverages automation to analyze the transaction and authorization data, allowing it to detect and resolve fraud swiftly, minimizing false positives and thereby ensuring less valid transactions get wrongfully canceled.

Key Automation Considerations: Ethicality, Security & Regulation

Automation capabilities improve CX considerably, from real-time accessibility and self-service appointment scheduling to highly-tailored services and intuitive guides through financial processes. Nevertheless, concerns exist about automation lacking human empathy; AI has demonstrated bias against vulnerable groups. Credit unions should also consider security and privacy fears, including the typical regulation requirements of the financial sector. While seeking to address members' desire for better CX, it is equally incumbent upon them to be diligent in their search for ethical and industry-best automation tools and communication APIs.

Tony Hai

Tony Hai is former Chief Information Officer for JPMorgan and Advisory Group Member for IntelePeer, a Dania Beach, Fla.-based customer experience platform provider.