COVID-Driven Innovations: Digital Banking is the New Status Quo

The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way businesses conduct themselves online as well as customer expectations about what they can do. In other words, shopping has moved from the retail space to anywhere a consumer has a smartphone and digital banking is among the greatest business innovations that have enabled this brave new world. Long a niche segment of the overall financial industry, digital banking is not only growing by leaps and bounds but is expected to be the standard in a few short years. Here are five major reasons why digital banking is one of the business innovations that is driving the pivot in how people spend money during the pandemic and beyond:
  • Customers Expect Digital Banking Features to Be Customized to Their Needs
Perhaps the single biggest shift in consumer sentiment is that they now expect digital banking features to be tailored to their individual needs whatever they may be. This includes offering a range of products from traditional checking and savings to advanced loan products, credit lines, and even investments and securities.
  • They Expect Everywhere, Anywhere, All-the-Time Access
This means that digital banks have to maintain a presence online, in an app, on the smartwatch, and anywhere else a consumer might need their services. Thanks to wireless payments and the growth in that method of paying for things in physical retail stores banking institutions have a massive incentive to bring this everywhere, anywhere presence to the table.
  • Multiple Methods of Payment
This doesn’t mean accepting cash, credit, or debit when it comes to digital banking and business innovations; rather, “multiple methods of payment” means that consumers can pay with a card, use an app on a smartphone, or maybe even their smartwatch or another wearable device.
  • Investment Services and Spending Insights
One of the biggest changes that digital banking is bringing to banking services more broadly is that they cannot silo themselves into a pure retail banking slot or limit the services that they offer. What this means is that consumers are doing a lot of their financial shopping and dealing in one place – and providing that digital banking institution with a huge amount of data in the process. This data can help tailor banking services but also might even be used to give merchants insights into their own spending as well as the habits of others.
  • Account Fraud Protection and Security
A major concern that business and financial institutions have about the business innovations that digital banking is bringing to the table centers around security and protecting account holders from fraud. Yet, thanks to the multiple points of verification that digital banking can utilize, this concern is actually not as pertinent as it might seem at first glance. From multiple verification methods using existing data to biometric methods of identification, the new digital banking age could make a lot of account fraud a thing of the past (though, naturally, fraud will likely evolve with the times as it always has).
  • Global e-commerce growth
As we see the so-called “non-essential” or high-street businesses being severely damaged by the coronavirus spread we on the other hand witnessed a global boom in the segment of e-commerce. The online trade industry has grown in those times thanks to the tech advancements and we can firmly state that indeed the Digital Banking is the New Status Quo And here comes the fact that a business invitation in the face of a virtual IBAN may be exactly what you need to improve and adapt your operations especially when it comes to banking services.Monneo’s is a leading global provider of Digital Banking Solutions and virtual IBAN accounts. Many online merchants have already chosen our reliable and flexible solutions in the digital payments industry over the conventional ones offered by traditional high street banking. Contact us to learn more about how Monneo can help you with digital payment solutions or apply directly for your virtual IBAN on our website.