New technologies in banking, investing, and insurance have dramatically changed these sectors in recent years: from online trading to mobile banking, digital currencies and app proliferation. Innovative new players and offerings are driving wave after wave of digital disruption and the Finance and Insurance sector is faster, bigger, and more complex than ever before. The market is highly attractive to nimble new market entrants who to seek to shake up industries that have been comparatively slow to embrace digital transformation.  

Digital transformation has also marked a change in consumer expectations. The balance of power is shifting from the provider to the consumer. Customers expect to be offered highly relevant products at the very best prices and complete ease of purchase. They also want subsequent interactions to be simple and available via multiple channels, as well as having instant access on any device when buying online or managing their financial affairs. A seamless omni-channel experience with quick response times and personalised products is now the customer’s minimum expectation. Finance organisations that fail to adopt digital technology to meet these consumer expectations risk delayed response times, sub-optimal service feedback, and a loss of customer loyalty.  

Address Key Challenges  
Embracing digital disruption and utilising new technologies can help you to address four key challenges in the finance and insurance industries: 

1. Security – A major concern for finance and insurance organisations is ensuring operations are secure. Due to valuable nature of customer data, there is a significant threat from cyber-attacks, and guaranteeing security is paramount. In addition, PCI compliance and FCA regulatory requirements demand that systems and customer communications are secure, robust, and always auditable. Failure to comply with these regulations can contribute to brand damage and loss of customer confidence. So, a coherent security strategy designed to enhance protection, prevent cyber security threats (viruses, hacking, piracy and DDoS attacks), and align with best practice is crucial.  
    

1. Risk Management – Technology can assist with the profiling of customer risk. AI, for example, will be able to analyse data more efficiently, enabling businesses to employ risk identification and mitigation measures and gain actionable insights to improve competitiveness and enhance customer security.  
    

1. Customer Experience – Machine learning technology such as Robotic Process Automation has an important part to play in the drive for efficiency. By streamlining customer service and automating processes throughout the ecosystem, teams can focus on providing an excellent customer experience. This is particularly true in finance and banking, as real-time, personalised products demand vast amounts of data instantaneously, adding burdens in terms of time and resources which AI applications can help to alleviate.  
    

1. Operational efficiency – Finance and insurance organisations need to deliver an optimal blend of innovative and cost-effective technology to drive operational efficiency. Using a variety of technologies from disparate vendors is complex to manage and not always cost-effective. Digital transformation offers a convenient opportunity to simplify infrastructure by consolidating to fewer suppliers. By replacing existing technologies with a multi-channel contact solution from a single vendor, architecture can be simplified, costs reduced, and resilience enhanced.   

By deploying technology that creates an omni-channel experience and allows the capture of customer data, finance organisations can make the buying experience more rewarding and gain new insights into customer behaviour. These insights can be used to recommend other products and services. Conversely, new market entrants need to broaden their product set once their initial offering has gained momentum.  By partnering with an experienced technology solutions provider, they can build on this initial success and incorporate other unified communications and contact centre solutions into what are often web-only offerings. 

Whatever the nature of your business, there’s never been a better time to embrace digital transformation and use it to improve your organisation’s competitiveness and operational efficiency.