Banks should improve web to branch communications

A European survey shows that consumers want banks to have better connections between the Internet and the branch.

Research published by Fujitsu Services has shown that bank customers want better integration of information between the Internet and their high street branch.
The survey questioned 2,500 retail financial services customers in Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.
65% of respondents said that they would rather receive online support, with face-to-face contact in a branch coming a close second at 53%. Contact over the phone with call centres was third choice at 43%. Meanwhile just 5% of people questioned preferred mobile services, the lowest on the list, which suggests that investments by financial organisations in mobile banking services could be misplaced.

“Although much has been said in recent years about the importance of multi-channel integration, the survey suggests that integration is most critical between the two most used channels – Internet and branch,” says Andy Stewart, European strategy director at Fujitsu Services.

The research also suggests that easy-to-use services are more important for customers than security. When asked about what secured their loyalty, just over a third of all respondents said that a good experience of automated services was most important, with less than a fifth said security of personal details was the main factor.

“If online self-service doesn’t deliver then the consumer actually gets more frustrated and disappointed than if the option wasn’t there at all,” continues Stewart.
Customers disagreed with financial service providers who thought that a large range of products secured customer loyalty. Only 11% of respondents considered a product range a priority, whereas value for money (43%) and customer service (41%) were thought to be the most important attributes.

The research also found that there was a high degree of consistency among age groups, sexes and income levels on customer attitudes to financial services. All age and income groups agreed that value for money and good customer service were most likely to make them a loyal customer.
Fujitsu Services is a leading European IT services company that provides IT solutions to a range of private and public customers across Europe, including retail, financial services, healthcare and government. Key services include IT service management and IT outsourcing. With headquarters in London, Fujitsu Services employs over 19,000 people in 20 countries and has an annual turnover of £2.46 billion (€3.59 billion).

For the full report visit the Fujitsu Services website at: www.uk.fujitsu.com

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Graham Goulden

Fujitsu Services

Fujitsu IT Services

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