The Urgency To Adopt Emerging Tech In Corporate Banking
Today, people enjoy the opportunity to do business and complete payments at home or on the go, also known as mobile banking. With multiple levels of digital transformation, corporate banking is expected to reinvent its identity altogether. From automated bill payments to virtual assistants, corporate customers have been enjoying various benefits delivered by integrating emerging tech.
Corporate banks today are faced with an urgent need to reimagine how they do things. The recent global crisis not only advanced retail banking but also highlighted ways corporate banking services can enable their customers to scale. In times of shrinking brand loyalty, increased cyber threats, and digital-native customers, corporate banks must leverage emerging tech to expand their abilities and advance their offerings.
Top Eight Bare Essential Features On A Corporate Banking App
A 2021 study highlighted that 97% of the respondents believed corporate banking apps should have simple customer service features. In addition, 66% of respondents showed interest in chatbots and virtual assistants. Finally, 72% of the respondents indicated they would be open to switching banks if offered mobile wallets.
A frightening reality drives home how urgently corporate banks must automate intelligently to streamline their business procedures. 1 in 5 millennials wants to launch their businesses instead of working for corporations. Corporate banks must change their focus from banking to the business of experiences to keep up with the growing number of businesses with a digital-first mindset, a mobile-friendly attitude, and an international scope because of this knowledge-hungry behaviour.
A study conducted during the peak pandemic time showed that in 12 months, 16% of SMEs switched banks because they were offered innovative features elsewhere.
Old or new, businesses that use commercial banking are on the rise. Corporate banks cannot afford to go wrong, or they stand to lose whatever customer base they have. Corporate banks must update their applications with the following features if they want to retain their customers:
1. Mobile Banking & Approvals On The Move
Personalised mobile banking features enables corporate customers and users to carry out various transactions without any risk or security fraud. Payment approvals on-the-go translates to reduced wait time. In addition, enabling corporate customers to view and authorise transaction requests even when they are travelling or out of office, through their devices has become crucial post pandemic.
Several top contending corporate banking apps offer tailor-made features that gives the option to set transaction limits for makers and checkers and these tool are made available 24*7.
2. Integration With POS Machines
Simply put, POS machines or Point of Sale machines are digitised softwares that replace traditional cash registers while doing much more than what cash registers normally do. Corporate customers who carry out most of their work on the go benefit from systems that are capable of handling all of their financial transactions, track their inventory and record all types of business data.
POS integration is essential to ensure effective growth of the business. It is time saving and offers faster services to the customers where their wait time is decreased and their experience is enhanced. Integration with POS machines in corporate apps offers corporate customers insightful data into buyer’s behaviours. This can also enable corporate customers to customise their offerings accordingly. more importantly, it reduces dependencies on human resources.
3. Secure Sign-in
Multi-step-authentications based on biometrics are necessary to ensure the safety of the customer’s finances and data. Biometric authentication scans physical metrics for recognition of the owner to grant access. The authentication verifies voices, typing, rhythm, gestures, and more.
4. QR Code Payments:
Nowadays, a lot of people use QR code scanning technology. Paying for goods and services is effortless because you place your phone in front of the scanner and scan the QR code, and payment is complete. However, despite QR codes being an established and well-known technology, only some banks use them to enable payment options in corporate banking apps. For instance, ING and RABO Bank of the Netherlands were among the first banks in the world to integrate payments with a QR scanner into their Payconiq app. Online and in-store payments have been made simpler with Payconiq.
5. Smart Chatbots:
Chat robots are referred to as chatbots. It is a computer application that uses AI to simulate human conversations. Establishing a communication channel between the two is the aim of this integration. Currently, chatbots are employed by banks, financial institutions, online gaming, BPOs, and eCommerce.
They deliver excellent customer service due to the application of AI, which gives customers the most individualised experience. Banks must ensure customers are catered to around-the-clock and that their problems are resolved as soon as possible. A clever chatbot may respond to various queries without using much of the customer’s time.
6. Alerts & Notifications
Alerts notify users when there is new content available. It also reminds them of pending tasks and offers a sense of interactivity between the app and the user.
This feature might not seem like a big deal, as it has been around since SMS banking. Corporate banking can better give customers the ability to customise which alerts they receive or do not receive. This will allow them to receive only the information they want, reducing intrusive notifications wherever possible.
7. Peer-to-peer payment
By 2030, the market for P2P payments is expected to be worth USD 9,135 billion, growing at a 19.7% CAGR. P2P transfers funds from your bank to others. It assures safety, security, and time deposits.
8. Bill Payments
When corporate clients have the chance to pay bills through their corporate banking app. Several banks offer unique features such as timely reminders and schedule recurring payments. This can also help them monitor their bank balances and more.
9. Security & Fraud Alerts
Security and safety are of the utmost importance in every payment process step. Banking apps contain sensitive data that needs to be protected, and corporate banks must ensure that their platforms are not compromised at any moment.
Every year, several banks fall prey to cyber theft and data breaches. This lowers their value in the market and compromises their brand loyalty. So, corporate banking apps must have security features such as touch or face ID.
Digital-First Corporate Banks For Tech-Savvy Customers
The total number of smartphone users worldwide increased by 10.4% a year between 2016 and 2022. Global smartphone usage reached 6.6 billion users in 2022, a growth rate of 4.9 per cent annually.
We see that more and more customers are using mobile applications and websites to perform transactions. This makes omnichannel financial services platforms significant. At the same time, the development and increased demand for blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and the internet of things (IoT) all contributed to the acceleration of the banking sector’s modernisation.
There is a lot that needs to be talked about, from changing customer demands to accelerating digital transformation. Corporate banks have multiple concerns, including delayed trade financing, risk of cash flow problems, compliance with stringent sustainability norms, and the growing threat posed by B2B super apps. It’s time for traditional corporate banks to change their operating procedures and adopt new technologies in order to keep up with the rapidly shifting market.
