Building Trust and Community with your Customers and Members, Even When Face-to-Face Banking is Not an Option

As the coronavirus continues to make headlines and influence daily routines across the globe, many are taking measures to avoid large gatherings and limit their frequency of everyday interactions. Our days as we knew them have changed for the time being, and as we settle into our temporary new normal, it’s important to reiterate to the Alogent community – our customers, partners and employees – we are here to support you. From all locations and across every department, our teams are prepared and working remotely so that you continue to receive a seamless level of support to meet your own member and customer needs. 

Much like any industry amidst a global pandemic, financial institutions must reassure their account holders of their stability and enable the tools necessary to engage from outside the branch.  Given the level of concern and uncertainty that both individual and business account holders may experience, and the different needs they have at this unique time, it has never been more important to reinforce the sense of community and support from your institution. Ensuring they are aware of all tools in their arsenal to bank and have 24/7 access to their money and financial advice is key, along with the virtual personal touch, which is now more important than ever.  

Although online and mobile banking are not new, they are of significant importance today. Through seamless and simple interfaces, digital banking platforms are critical to ensuring the account holder feels confident in, supported by, and connected to, their institution without having to engage in-person. From simple transactions to transferring funds or bill pay, this self-service capability is important. Ditching the branch no longer means reduced productivity or support – it can and should be a seamless extension of capabilities across all channels, regardless of what device is used or where in the world the user is located. 

As stay-at-home orders are issued, it’s also important to let account holders know they have a reliable channel to communicate with their banking and money management professionals. With a volatile financial climate and many unsure of what tomorrow will bring, feeling connected to a banking expert who can still execute transactions and exchange documentation – whether it’s a signed form or an updated ID, is important. Features like those from Alogent enable a secure, bi-directional transfer of electronic documents and eliminate the need for in-branch interactions, while preserving the account holder relationship and building trust from afar. 

This may also be an opportune time to engage your FI’s community through training and online education. Many account holders are already familiar with remote deposit capture, for example – whether it’s from their mobile device or a desktop scanner at a merchant or small business’ storefront. However, for those who prefer their weekly trips to the branch, or older generations that shy away from mobile banking, the opportunity to engage in this “new” capability is now. Not only will you develop a sense of community and build confidence that it’s still possible to deposit funds from afar, but when days return to normal, you’ll have another account holder utilizing this important self-service feature – ultimately freeing branch teams from small efforts so they can engage in more detailed transactions.  

During times of change and uncertainty, both personal and business account holders seek a sense of normalcy and support from their financial service providers. Keeping engagement high, a sense of community, and continuous access to banking features and professionals builds confidence with the account holder and is more important than ever to ensure a longstanding banking relationship that spans both personal and business needs.  

Alogent’s team is passionate about innovation and automating the full transaction ecosystem of any financial institution. We combine this commitment with a long pedigree of delivering a precisely calibrated, unified, single vendor offering that enables customization and scalability to more than 2,400 community institutions and international banks. Learn more about our scalable end-to-end solutions that offer both full- and self-service capabilities, both on-premise and in the cloud, at www.Alogent.com.