Banking in the 21st century, and particularly through the last decade, moved from physical to digital. While some still prefer visiting a bank, most modern banking consumers use Internet banking, digital wallets, etc., to wire funds, generate statements, make chequebook requests, increase credit limits and others.
But digital banking in 2023 transcends these fundamentals. Today’s digital banking consumers expect their bankers to provide more than the basics. They demand features making their banking experience safer and more seamless. In other words, they expect the website to have certain features contributing to happier digital banking journeys.
As a banking or financial services organisation if you look forward to revamping your website or building one anew, discuss integrating these nine features in your website with your company for web development in Durban.
Nine Features BFSI Websites Should Have
Digital banking is significantly experience-driven. Hence, many expert website development companies in Durban would suggest some features all banking and finance websites should integrate. Here are nine of the most crucial ones for digital success.
- Online Account Opening
Those days are history when prospects had to visit banks and spend hours in the bank’s office to open a bank account. Today, people wouldn’t have as much time to do it. Hence, they expect banks to begin the account opening process online and call them in the office or their place to complete the final formalities. The expectation applies to retail and corporate customers. Thus, in the age where speed and convenience matter, online account opening proves a must-have feature in banking websites.
- Mobile-Friendliness
Most banks worldwide have mobile banking applications for consumer convenience. But user comfort matters. So, if a banking consumer is comfortable using the bank’s website and familiar with its interface, they’d rarely go with the bank’s mobile application. Considering the value of every consumer, banks should have mobile-responsive websites offering flawless and uninterrupted banking experiences on a user’s mobile phone – again, no matter the operating system.
- Optimal Website Speed
The industry standard for a banking webpage is three to four seconds. Anything more than that is not desirable and can spoil the user experience. Accordingly, banks and financial institutions should work with website development companies in Durban, South Africa, to optimise their website’s speed.
The website development company in Durban would factor in various technical aspects and analyse the reasons for a slower website speed. They’d use the insights and their expertise to increase the website’s loading speed and make it more user-friendly.
- AI-Powered Chatbot
A decade ago, banks established contact centres to reduce call flow at the banking branch and provide quicker service. But soon, contact centres got flooded by calls for trivial concerns, which while overwhelming contact centre agents, delayed customer service. Later, banks set up chat assistance on websites. But its effectiveness was short-lived, given the storm of messages that kept hitting the website!
But modern banking goes beyond both these traditional solutions. Banks now have AI-powered chatbots integrated into their website ecosystem. AI-ML chatbots engage in multilingual human-like interactions and provide accurate and almost instant responses.
Patients don’t have to wait for a response. There’s no human agent at the backend but a bot providing human-like responses. So, while receiving instant responses, customers don’t have to deal with typical machine answers as they had to in the past. Besides, these chatbots evolve with every conversation, bettering customer service every second!
- Personalised Recommendations
Banks and financial institutions can increase their sales by providing their customers personalised insurance or investment plans, based on their needs and banking portfolio. These recommendations will require the customers to think less and make informed buying decisions. It can create a win-win situation for banks and their account holders.
- Quick Service Links
Consumers wouldn’t appreciate or prefer emailing the bank for routine requests like chequebooks, credit card services, ATM password management, etc. Instead, they’d adore having quick service links, helping them place a request simply by clicking on the link and receiving an instant confirmation on the interface and their mobile phone. Further, live tracking and request status can enhance the customer experience and keep them assured about the completion of their request.
- Two-Factor Authentication for Login
The banking sector is one of the most susceptible to cyberattacks. Hence, banks and other financial institutions offering online services should stay extra careful and provide their users with a safe and secure online banking platform. Of course, no technology or organisation can ensure 100 per cent immunity against cyber threats and attacks. But integrating two-factor authentication for login can (password and OTP on the registered mobile number) can help make internet banking much more secure.
- Location Finder
The location finder is a feature allowing website visitors to find branches and ATMs near them. Users can search branches based on the latter’s address or ZIP code. Furthermore, adding multiple filters can help narrow the search and help users get precise results for their requirements.
- Personal Finance Management (PFM)
Not every consumer can afford to have a personal financial advisor. Banks can help consumers enhance their financial behaviour and make better and healthier financial decisions. Such a feature can help them plan their finances in terms of expenses and setting saving goals. Furthermore, it can enable customers to monitor weekly and monthly progress with comprehensive and intuitive charts. These charts can help them make informed allocations to various funds. In turn, it can translate to increased customer loyalty for the bank.
In addition to the above, integrating features like voice search, predictive analytics, and content personalisation can help enhance the banking experience.
Empower Your Website with Advanced Features and Redefine the Banking Experience!
BFSI has become a highly competitive sector. Gone are those days when people had no option but to transact with a few banks around. Today they have several options. Hence, you cannot take their loyalty for granted. While ensuring excellent customer service, you should also enhance the digital banking experience with features including but not limited to the above. Partnering with an experienced web development company in Durban can prove significantly helpful here!
FABTARY, one of the leading website development companies in Durban, can help you elevate your website banking experience with incredible features expediting and enhancing customer service. The company’s access to the latest technologies, attractive web development packages in Durban and multi-domain experience can help you optimise your customer’s banking journey with you.
