While that may sound intuitive, it can be difficult for firms to ensure that their customers always get the expected benefits from financial products and services. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also recognises the importance of this and has begun efforts to ensure good consumer outcomes with its ‘New Consumer Duty’ proposals, which will require all financial institutions to adopt this principle.

The New Consumer Duty will require many firms to re-evaluate their offerings. Could services be more accessible, or more informative? Are data and digital tools really being used to maximise consumer outcomes?

Consumer expectations and the digital paradox

The preference for digital experiences has been taking shape for some time. 69 per cent of UK adults with a bank account use online banking at least once a month This suggests that the vast majority of consumers are making use of digital tools in their financial lives (Forrester).

That figure, however, isn’t matched by the proportion of firms that utilise digital in a customer-centric manner. In some cases, overdependence on digital channels has left consumers feeling that services are lacking a human touch.This ‘digital paradox’ in financial services explains why many institutions miss the mark. Digital channels can and should be leveraged for efficiency, but they must also strengthen consumer-advisor ties. Deployed with empathy, digital doesn’t have to mean less human.

The value of building trust in the digital space

From the FCA’s perspective, trust is a key tenet of consumer duty (FCA).

Winning consumer trust, however, is no more complex than creating and maintaining customer-centric experiences. As digital becomes the channel of choice for many more consumers, firms should focus on making customers feel valued, appreciated, and respected in these digital moments too.

Consumer-centric digital experiences in practice

Face-to-face conversations are often necessary for customer-advisor collaboration. With many looking to limit physical touchpoints, the challenge now is creating a digital environment where this can still happen as seamlessly and securely as before. Any online or in-app private banking interaction must be customer-centric, risk-mitigated, and differentiated.

Which tools add value to digital advisory experiences? By utilising secure messaging, video conferencing and co-browsing capabilities, one of Unblu’s major wealth advisory clients in Belgium is seeing promising results. Equipping 200 advisors with Unblu in 2019, digital collaboration tools have empowered advisors to resolve client issues faster.

Adopting this strategy has successfully reduced the number of in-person meetings, but not at the expense of customer centricity. With customer satisfaction levels going up, it’s clear that hybrid digital experiences are adding value to the firm’s wealth advisory services.

Raising the standards with digital tools

Digital tools can help banks achieve the agility required for true customer-centricity. The key is using digital to serve customers’ best interests, but never at the expense of human support. Fusing the two offers a promising avenue for fulfilling consumer duty and earning customer loyalty.