Tommy Petrogiannis, President, eSignLive by VASCO

In today’s multichannel world, mobile is essential for success. Customers want everything at their fingertips and mobile technology enables banks and financial institutions to deliver services just as customers want them.

Whether they are opening a new account, applying for a loan or retail credit, customers expect a seamless and consistent experience at every touchpoint, including mobile. There isn’t any room for error and banks and financial institutions that hope to keep hold of their customers need to make sure they are meeting expectations here.

This seamless experience has to start from the first interaction – the onboarding process. From the moment customers show an interest in doing business, they must ensure that their house is in order and make sure the customer journey is entirely drama-free or they risk losing out to competitors that are better prepared. Simply put, if getting customers through the door is a struggle, keeping them in the building will not be easier.

The advent of millennials also puts increased emphasis on an effective mobile experience. A recent KPMG report highlighted that as many as 90 per cent of all millennials use mobile banking. As a result, they expect to be able to conduct all engagements with their banks via mobile.As the percentage of digitally native customers increases, banks that do not adequately meet these expectations will simply get left behind. The half-digital experience where we have to download, sign and upload documents to complete transactions will not be enough.

So how can banks and financial institutions ensure they are making the most of the opportunity with mobile? How can they make sure the customer journey is set up to win customers’ loyalty? What could potentially be in it for banks and financial institutions?

Paper is holding you back

Consider what customers experience when they go through a paper-based process. First there’s the print-out burden. Then, the exposure to errors (takes some effort to make sure all appropriate pages are signed). Then the hassle of returning the paper documents. If there are errors or omissions, they will have to repeat the process, at least partially

With effective mobile onboarding, the experience is completely different. There is free choice of how to collect and complete the document. There is also guidance around possible errors and oversights, and completed documents are automatically routed to the right parties which saves time. There’s also the cost saving element. For example: BMO Bank of Montreal calculated that they used approximately 1.6 billion sheets of paper annually. Laid end-to-end, the paper would pave a path to the moon and back. They also assigned each sheet a value of 0.08 cents, and worked out that the reduction of paper in its retail branches would save the bank $98.2 million a year.

Mobile onboarding will improve the workflow

With effective mobile onboarding, completed documents are automatically routed to the right parties for either review or approval. This means less time waiting around for documents to be delivered by post or waiting for indefinite periods for approval. Instant action is made possible and customers can have quicker access to the service they requested.

Mobile onboarding also means documents are indexed and stored automatically, which means the documents can be more easily retrieved. Unnecessary manual handling is eliminated and employees’ time can be invested in providing the requested service.

Mobile onboarding reflects well on your business 

As mentioned earlier, there is no room for anything less than an excellent customer experience. Regardless of where the customer is initiating an interaction –web, mobile, call centre or in person – it is imperative that they enjoy a convenience and experience that reflects well on your business.

Customers won’t to need to repeat paperwork or fear that they might have to sacrifice their time to correct errors; instead, they will have an encouraging inducement to repeat their engagement with you.

The number of consumers handling larger accounts like mortgages and investments via mobile banking jumped 86% from last year. And this trend is expected to continue. Customers have excellent mobile experiences with many other brands and banks and financial institutions that fail to acknowledge this and match these expectations will only have themselves to blame when the exodus begins.