CEOs often wonder how and where they should start their digital transformations. Should they focus on the digital transformation of their customer service function or should they pick up an entire customer journey?
Let me tell you about my recent experience. I needed to open a Non-resident bank account in India. The "problem" was that I needed to do it while being physically present in Dubai.
No matter, I thought, I already have a bank account with a foreign bank (clue: four letters, historical ties to Hong Kong) and so it should be easy.
How wrong I was! I needed to provide four documents and had to get an application form filled up (with 12 pages and 60+ fields!). I was a bit annoyed that I had to provide KYC and AML documents to a bank where I already have an account. The bank could reuse the existing records, surely?
After a couple of days, I was told that some of those documents were no longer current (expired passport). I was wondering about their continuous due-diligence of Know your customer (KYC), documents. I wish they had reminded me to update my records before. Anyway, I felt I was responsible partly, so I let that go.
I imagined COVID-19 would have accelerated digital transformations in the financial services sector. Apparently, not everywhere. My relationship manager told me that he hoped things would move faster and the bank’s move to digital channels would accelerate because of the pandemic. Digital transformations will succeed if banks invest in understanding their customers and their “jobs to be done”.
Meanwhile, my application process started on May 28th, and my account is not yet open. I remain patient only because of the excellent customer approach displayed by my relationship manager.
Moral of the story: If you can't get your digital transformation up and running, at least make sure that your customer service is damn good!
