The Australian: Cognizant’s Head of Banking and Financial Services in Australia Explains Why Retail Banks Cannot Ignore Digital Transformation

“Digital Chief Information Officers (CIOs) have a crucial part to play in reshaping the banking and financial institutions industry for the digital age,” writes Carlo Lacota. “As the CIO role encompasses many responsibilities beginning with the IT value chain, they are in the driver’s seat for the next phase of banking.” Excerpts:

“New technologies, coupled with a more technologically fluent customer base, have caught banks’ attention, steering them towards a customer that is experience-led, insights-driven and connected with digital transformation. Start-ups have had a big impact in terms of customer service.

Due to the influx of financial services technology players, the market now has more convenient and effective products than ever before. The flow-on effect from this is that customer expectations have also risen to new levels.

While the omnichannel trend has helped banks keep pace with customer demands, it has also surfaced the need for a consistent experience across different touch-points and channels.

Physical banking branches can complement an organisation’s online offering, not just through customer service, but also with design and integration. Consumers want digitally connected investment and lending advice, mobile connectivity to various financial accounts, local banking workshops, and more.

To overcome the challenge of delivering these options as and when customers want them, banks need an end-to-end digital strategy that incorporates, not removes, offline interactivity.

The digital disruption of banking presents great opportunities in regards to innovation, customer-centric initiatives, improved effectiveness of multiple channels, increased digitization, and more personalized customer service.”

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