46 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2021 OPERATIONS / TECHNOLOGY Embracing Digital Statements To enhance customer engagement Imagine accessing your monthly financial statement on a single responsive page. That page provides an intuitive view of your finances, segmented into a logical hierarchy. Perhaps an integrated video introduces the statement or walks you through the highlights, including spending categories and spikes. Let’s say you don’t recall a transaction, so you ask for clarification through your device’s microphone or live chat. Once you master your statement, another piece of media catches your eye. It could be rewards, savings recommendations, investment opportunities or a service you didn’t know about. This may seem like a pipe dream, but so did other digital changes that have happened over the years. Digital demands have transformed every corner of the financial services industry. Statements are following suit, adding significant value to consumers. Institutions that seize current opportunities and plan for upcoming technologies can transform the mandated process of sending bank statements into an effective engagement touchpoint. A look at the current statement landscape. Before glimpsing into the future of financial statements, consider the following trends. Of the respondents to a recent CSI survey, over one-third of financial institutions either primarily (36%) or solely (2%) deliver paper statements. That’s almost double the number of customers who prefer to manage finances digitally. It’s true that many customers still rely on paper statements, and there are advantages to providing both. Yet these numbers suggest an opportunity to shrink the gap between those who prefer digital and Jimmie Paradee Product Manager, Document Services Division Computer Services Inc. Jimmie.Paradee@csiweb.com Computer Services Inc. (CSI) is an associate member of the Indiana Bankers Association. those who actually use digital statements. Market upheavals suggest that the time is ripe to advocate for conversion and showcase your digital services. Doing so cuts costs and meets digital expectations. Strategies for promoting digital statement adoption. Interactive digital statements ensure crosschannel consistency and convenience. They update your statements’ appearance to reflect your brand, while simplifying marketing and eliminating the rigidity of paper statements. Institutions have deployed a variety of strategies to encourage digital adoption. Some have taken a more direct approach by charging a fee for print or making e-statements the default option. While these methods to digital statement adoption can be effective, consider a subtler approach that showcases the benefits of adoption. With the ever-increasing preferences of digital, many customers who once held fast to paper statements are persuadable. Continue to use every tool at your disposal to inform and reassure customers about digital statements. Highlight the benefits of digital statement adoption – including immediate delivery, enhanced security, automatic storage for convenient review, search functionality and positive environmental impact – to help eliminate skepticism. What’s the next big thing in digital financial statements? Interactive digital statements are the critical first step toward a better user experience. Additionally, tech leaders see an opportunity to innovate further and transform statements into a unique customer resource. Institutions can either expect minimal interaction, or
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