The Age of Assistance, a term made popular by Google, is turning the financial services industry on its head. Consumers today are living in micro-moments, with ease of access and exposure to a large and diverse set of digital services, customers are no longer satisfied with just getting what they want. Today’s consumer demands flexibility in how and where they engage financial services to get what they want. Banks that take advantage of this shift will outpace their customers and seize a new generation of customers across a multitude of channels. Banks that fail to adapt, risk extinction.
Technology is evolving faster than ever. It is critical that financial services companies learn to adapt to the new digital ecosystem that has risen from this rapid digital transformation. Digital transformation is not solely about having your brand visible and present everywhere. That is an impossible, futile journey with a very high capital requirement. I believe the true power of a digital transformation initiative is when banks understand the power of invisibility — by partnering, leveraging customer trust, and building an ecosystem centered around the customer, the banks can be more relevant by building an invisibility fabric around the customer. Banks need to focus on leveraging digital to make their services simple, seamless, and invisible so that their customers do not face any complexities.