As the digital transformation continues to disrupt all of our lives, the prevailing view is now that we are not living through an era of changes but a change of eras. We have talked on many previous occasions about how the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly accelerated many changes that were already starting to happen, and this has relentlessly transformed the relationship between companies and their customers. The banking sector, too, finds itself at this particular crossroads and the signposts are clear. If banks really believe that they are going to come out of this unscathed, they are going to have to engage in some serious additional effort to listen to their consumers and adapt their processing times, hierarchies, structures and relationships if they are to get a comprehensive view of the customer experience.

The consulting firm PWC has recently published a survey of more than 6,000 banking consumers, providing them with enough data to outline the key changes happening in the banking industry. “Crucially”, says the report’s executive summary, “we believe that few banks can continue to excel on the basis of their pre-COVID geographic footprint alone”, as had been the case for the years running up to the pandemic. In fact, practically all banks are being forced to think about their deposit strategies, not just nationally but across borders. “Fortunately, the market shake-up is also introducing a lot of new opportunities for banks far beyond the large market leaders”, claims the report. “If you understand the needs of your target customers and build your value proposition accordingly, they can come”.

The document, which can be read in full here, is structured around four key sources of data: the use of digital banking, digital account opening, the presence of “direct banks” on the market and non-banks. Amongst some of the points that most stand out is the call for specialised strategies, with examples of firms that are making inroads in this direction. Also of note is the summary of required capabilities at the corporate level in order to reach this development phase.

Here at GDS Modellica, we have once again opted to compile some of the key details in the form of an infographic, which we invite our readers to share with their colleagues and partners. We hope to this way provide a quick insight into some of the most important features of this change of era for the banking sector.