Digital Banking Series Part 1: Considerations when Upgrading your Digital Banking Platform
Digital banking has transformed how consumers and small businesses transact, including accessing account information, transferring funds, paying bills, depositing checks, inquiring about loan offers, and more. As a result, financial institutions of all sizes now see online and mobile banking as a key component for attracting, retaining, and engaging account holders as a direct extension of their brick-and-mortar branches.
With so much focus on digital banking channels, it’s worth reevaluating if your existing platform aligns with account holders’ current and future needs. Switching platforms may feel like a herculean decision, but the risk of falling behind—and losing user engagement—represents a real threat. This multi-part series discusses the topic of switching digital banking platforms, starting with the pros and cons.
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"Change can be Difficult." Potential Challenges when Switching Digital Banking Platforms
Change can seem difficult, especially when you are talking about a change that impacts your account holders and your employees. Here are a few reasons why a financial institution may defer discussions about switching:
Internal resources and bandwidth
To effectively select and implement your digital banking platform, it’s essential to allocate sufficient resources and time. While it may seem like a significant investment initially, addressing these needs is crucial for smoothly integrating internal workflows and managing technological implications. Despite the upfront effort and resources required, the positive results and long-term benefits will make it well worth the investment.
Concerns about user adoption
Introducing a new user interface often brings about a period of adjustment for users, as the updated look and feel can make it initially challenging to locate familiar features. This transition phase may cause some temporary frustration as users familiarize themselves with the redesigned layout and functionality. However, with time and training, users will adapt to the new UI, ultimately benefiting from its improved design and enhanced efficiency.
Friction with users
Adopting a modern digital banking platform with enhanced integrations and features typically improves the overall user experience. However, even the most advanced platform might not support certain functionalities provided by your current vendor. While discontinuing a feature used by a small percentage of users might appear low-risk, it’s important to note that this niche group, especially if they are high-value and vocal, may experience frustration due to the change. Ensuring their concerns are addressed and finding suitable alternatives can help mitigate any potential dissatisfaction.
Tangible Benefits when Upgrading your Digital Banking Platform
Migrating to a modern, feature-rich digital banking platform offers a number of tangible benefits, which is likely why many banks and credit unions consider upgrading every few years. The potential gain often outweighs the drawbacks. Here are a few reasons why:
Staying ahead of account holders’ needs
In an era where most adults own a smartphone, digital banking solutions have evolved as a one-stop-shop for daily transactions as the demand for self-service banking continues to evolve at rapid speed. At the same time, consumers and small business owners are increasingly banking at multiple institutions and want a consolidated view of their accounts to understand their overall financial health. In addition, peer-to-peer payments (P2P), for example, are changing how consumers exchange funds, making the need to stay relevant and useful a continuously evolving effort for banks and credit unions who strive to align with market demands.
Enabling smoother and more intuitive user journeys for account holders
If your institution uses different vendors for consumer and small business banking, it’s time to consider a more advanced, unified platform. Managing separate logins and navigating varying capabilities across mobile and online banking can create unnecessary friction. By adopting a modern, all-in-one digital banking solution with consistent features across all devices, you can streamline access, minimize bottlenecks, and improve the overall user experience. This transition to a comprehensive platform will help users achieve their goals more efficiently and benefit from a more personalized, cohesive support system.
Potential cost savings
Maintaining separate mobile and online banking technologies from multiple vendors or relying on on-premise solutions can lead to unnecessary complexity and increased costs for technology, support, and IT. Transitioning to a comprehensive, hosted platform like NXT, that spans all of your institution’s digital banking channels, can simplify your tech stack and generate significant cost savings. This consolidation not only reduces budget strain but also streamlines operations, making your mobile and online banking services more efficient and effective.
Learn more about NXT, Alogent’s unified consumer and business digital banking platform.
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Look for part 2 of this blog series coming soon.
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