The Pathway from Digital Account Opening to PFI

Where are traditional financial institutions going wrong with digital account opening? And how can banks and credit unions make it right?

Consumers are looking for a simple and quick experience to open and begin using their accounts.  There’s only one opportunity to make a great first impression and for many prospective account holders the financial institution’s website is that first interaction. As neobanks and megabanks continue to eat away at regional and community financial institution’s account opening market share, banks and credit unions must reimagine their digital account opening solution to attract, educate, and convert prospective customers or members. By embracing the digital-age, financial institutions will be more inviting to the next generation of account holders. Not only will this shift benefit applicants, but it will also support operational staff’s efforts by creating efficiencies through automation, improved audit tracking, and a layered approach to identity verification – significantly reducing fraudulent attempts.

How can financial institutions elevate the in-branch account opening experience?

While account opening in the digital channel is crucial to a financial institution’s acquisition strategy, so is the in-branch experience. According to a 2022 study by Aite-Novarica, they found that 43% of U.S. survey respondents opened their recent checking account at a branch. When upgrading the  deposit account opening solution, it’s essential that the  in-branch process mirrors the digital channel. By offering an omnichannel experience, a financial institution can accelerate acquisition and eliminate manual processes.

First stop, throw out the paper applications. Welcome prospective and existing account holders into your branch and dazzle them with the trusted service they desire when choosing a regional or community financial institution. Grab them a cup of coffee and sit down as you walk them through the application process on a tablet or desktop. Ask for a few simple inputs, capture their preferred funding method, and collect an e-signature. That’s it! Once submitted, process the application within the same cloud-based dashboard as online applications – creating consistency for your back office and improving audit tracking and data reporting. 

What happens after a new applicant opens an account? How can financial institutions activate those relationships to create stickiness and work towards achieving primary financial institution status? 

Onboarding is so much more than simply opening an account. It’s every touch point that a financial institution has with their account holders after that initial application that creates stickiness, keeps the user engaged, and ultimately can lead to primary financial institution status. Having a continuous onboarding strategy will create momentum to keep current account holders and attract new ones.. 

Consider this engagement.  A consumer has just opened a new checking account with your institution through your mobile app. Once in digital banking, the user is encouraged to add their new debit card to their digital wallet, Apple or Google Pay, via push provisioning. The user is excited by the convenience of Apple Pay and quickly begins using it as their primary payment method at e-commerce sites and tap-to-pay points of sale. After the user begins generating some activity with their new debit card, transaction data cleansing feeds customer insights tools and identifies interesting behaviors for the financial institution to use to further tailor offers and experiences for that individual account holder. For instance, find out:

• They are depositing a check biweekly from their employer
• They often use Venmo to send their kid’s daycare center funds
• And they’ve been making a lot of payments to various auto repair shops

From these three observed behaviors, it would make sense to then position the following personalized engagements as the next best products for that user: