PCM Vol.2 - Issue 10

Thought Leaders Corner
Taking identity verification mobile, the key to a
successful digital transformation
by Sarah Clark
Spoilt for choice and used to the
immediacy of a mobile world, consumers
nowadays have set the bar high for their
banks: they want to be able to manage
their finances on the go, to do their
banking from anywhere, at any time;
they want it all and they want it now.
In the meantime, although financial
institutions understand their customers’
appetite for simple, effective and realtime
banking and are eager to deliver
products and services that answer these
needs, at a time when data breaches
are on the news almost every week, the
pressure nothing but mounts for them
to comply with the ever stringent Anti-
Money Laundering regulations.
As banks seek to adapt to the evolving
regulatory environment and growing
competition from industry disruptors,
coming up with a solution to the
convenience – security conundrum has
become paramount to those financial
institutions wanting to win over the
digital-only, mobile-centric consumer.
There is no argument about the steady
growth of mobile banking adoption.
A recent study by Javelin Strategy &
Research shows that in 2015, the
annual percentage of customers using
mobile banking services outpaced the
annual percentage of bank branch
visits by 6%. The report also highlights
that the convenience of having access
to information and other services just
when you need it via mobile phones is
one of the main drivers of the mobile
banking growth. In parallel, this ‘always
connected’ attitude is generating higher
expectations on the services provided
by other industries such as financial
services.
Decades working with thousands of
financial institutions from around the
world have taught us that the answer to
this dilemma resides in offering a simple,
Leveraging mobile to build
trustworthy (and valuable)
relationships with customers
Trust is the foundation on which the
banking industry is built but, since
the financial crisis erupted in 2008,
this trust has been put into question,
forcing banks to work harder than ever
to retain their customers. With trust for
the banking industry being at all-time
low, banks will need to demonstrate a
commitment to providing high-quality
service to a growing base of mobile
banking users.
Truth is that, like in most service-oriented
industries, a bad mobile banking
experience can lead to customers looking
for alternative solutions. According to a
new FICO survey, that’s exactly what’s
happening with a substantial number
of millennial banking customers. In fact,
the survey found that this demographic
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