Here's How US Bank Is Moving Beyond Digital DIY
Brought to you by WBR Insights
Another week, another article about digital transformation in the banking industry. We jest, of course, but it's fascinating to see how all these big brands are bringing something different to the digital transformation table. Each has a slightly different take on the opportunities and challenges presented by the new landscape.
However, until now, much of the focus of digital transformation has revolved around self-service options - using mobile apps or web portals to carry out simple banking transactions such as money transfers, balance checking, and making payments. While these everyday transactions do form most of the average person's interactions with their bank, it could be that the time has come for digital to dig a little deeper.
This is the view being taken by US Bank, which has decided to look beyond these simple self-service provisions and begin fleshing out its digital offerings to a more complete package.
US Bank
With digital banking now hitting the mainstream, US Bank has come to the realization that modern consumers - especially those in the millennial and GenZ age brackets - are hungry for a deeper digital experience with the banks they do business with. These generations are savvy with technology and are used to having the option of carrying out most interactions with brands online.
US Bank has found that 72 percent of its customers are active in digital spaces and half are using mobile channels with some regularity.
"Digital and do-it-yourself are the basic table stakes," said Derek White, US Bank Chief Digital Officer. "The real power comes to life as we use our data and we make our billions of interactions with our customers smart - this is the long game. We're collaborating across every part of the organization. One of the biggest surprises to me, having worked in other organizations, is that risks are sitting at the table embedded in every single one of these studios, helping us shape and design the future rather than sitting and watching from the outside trying to control it."
This has led US Bank to expand its digital offerings significantly. Presently, 74 percent of US Bank transactions can be carried out either in branch or via online/mobile. US Bank recognizes that, while a customer may use their local branch a dozen times per year, they will access the mobile app or online portal hundreds, if not thousands, of times in the same period.
Because of this, US Bank is investing heavily in a big tech approach with a focus on scaling, increasing the number of transactions carried out online, and new ways of monetizing and adding value to those transactions.
"In recent decades, success in digital customer engagement was judged by 'eyeballs,' but expectations are changing," added White. "To meet customer needs, US Bank is exploring how it can use data at the back end to offer customers actionable insights as they use its digital banking platform. As a result, DIY day-to-day transactions can no longer cut it in a mobile banking experience, and it's imperative for institutions to offer additional value."
However, it's not just the consumer facing side of US Bank's offering which is being subjected to this transformation. The bank is also looking to add further digital value to its business customers.
Digital Banking
One aspect of this is US Bank's acquisition of the Palo Alto-based software company, Talech. The acquisition is part of US Bank's plan to increase the digital expertise it can provide to its commercial clients.
Talech's main product is a next-generation POS system that allows small and medium-sized businesses to simplify operations and make better decisions informed by real-time data. Businesses can carry out order management, inventory and staff reporting, customer management, business insights, and payments processing all from a single platform.
"Small businesses are a focal point for us as we transform how U.S. Bank engages with customers and how our customers interact with their money, making it easy for them to make decisions at the moment they come into contact with our technology," said White. "We have an ambitious roadmap to deliver one amazing experience for our customers. Acquiring Talech makes a lot of sense for a number of reasons, not the least of which is we share a vision for helping businesses simplify their operations and make better decisions through an integrated point-of-sale system."
Linking all these features with its commercial banking service will give US Bank's customers unprecedented control over their finances and the way cash moves through their businesses.
Final Thoughts
By trying to move beyond simple DIY services and further embed itself in the digital lives of both its consumer and commercial customers, US Bank is establishing itself as a serious innovator in the contemporary banking space.