Pub. 2 2021 Issue 2

17 ISSUE 2 | 2021 regulatory compliance. Institutions must continue to foster a culture of compliance and a robust change management framework to keep their finger on the pulse of regulatory change. Evolving Strategies for Growth in 2021 Consumers — many of whom were reluctant to try digital channels — now demand digital offerings that are seamless, secure, and convenient. Financial institutions need to leverage new and existing technology to meet these expectations if they want to retain customers and attract new ones. To grow market share, bankers will continue reframing their strategies to examine new customer segments, geographic markets, and product types. But without employing customer data to inform digital transformation strategies, an institution’s customer acquisition and retention could suffer. The established data must drive these strategies as they continue to evolve. According to CSI’s report, bankers prioritized the following technologies to meet the challenges above: • Digital Account Opening topped the list of technological advances for nearly 59% of executive respondents. Naturally, the pandemic drove many customers to fulfill financial needs digitally. Even when the need for digital channels has stabilized, customers’ desire to seamlessly open an account will remain. • Mobile Banking Apps followed closely behind digital account openings, with 44% of executives planning to prioritize this technology. When utilizing digital banking apps, institutions should incorporate an integrated design across all channels to deliver consistent functionality. Some customers are new to digital, so creating user-friendly processes for those late adopters is essential. • Digital Lending has exploded during the pandemic, with 43% of executives reporting this feature as one of the highest technological priorities. As the economic slowdown met high borrower expectations, digital lending became an essential component of a digital banking strategy. • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tied with digital lending among bankers’ priorities for 2021. Better utilization of CRM to capture existing customer data empowers banks to meet the needs of customers through existing channels, such as digital account opening and mobile banking apps. Get Your Copy of the Full Executive Report Get a comprehensive breakdown of the survey data — including insight on digital transformation, cybersecurity, compliance, and more — by downloading the 2021 Banking Priorities Executive Report at csiweb.com/2021-banking-priorities- executive-report/.  Shane Ferrell is Vice President of Product Strategy at CSI.