Banks are undergoing a significant transformation due to ever-evolving customer behaviours and technologies. In this industry, keeping up with trends and being quick to adapt is critical to remaining relevant and profitable.
To help you keep up with the changing state of banking, here are some cash management trends to keep in mind in 2021 and beyond.
1. Technology Reinvents Cash Management in Banks
Artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) have all been topics of discussion for the last few years. In 2021, you can expect to see more banks adopting them on a larger scale.
IoT is revolutionizing the world of payments, as machines begin to handle routine payments. In the near future, cars can handle things like toll payments automatically. You can imagine other transactions of this nature.
The bank’s role can be to facilitate these machine-to-machine transactions. AI may almost certainly play a role. It can also be adopted into other cash management tasks for banks as well, such as providing expert advice to customers.
Banks themselves are also interested in adopting these technologies for their own in-house cash management. Blockchain, for example, could keep your own in-house technologies safer. Many banks are also adopting AI robo-advisors and chatbots to enhance the customer experience and stay ahead of the curve.
2. Banking Professionals as Trusted Advisors
Banks are moving away from the transactional relationship with customers and moving towards an advisory role. One of the reasons banks may consider adopting AI for customer service is because their role is often that of the trusted advisor. Banks assist their customers with cash management, which means dispensing advice as much as dispensing cash for business clients and individual customers alike.
Cash management technologies with more analytical capabilities can help banks deliver better advice and better customer service. Adopting big data analytics and machine learning, for example, can offer a new way to understand customer needs.
3. A Greater Focus on Security
The rise of fintech was initially focused on making banking and financial services easy and accessible. With news of ongoing breaches in major tech companies, however, more people have demanded better security in apps and other tech products.
Many are especially concerned about their financial information, and banks are concerned about security too. New cash management technologies are helping to provide more security. Banks may offer additional security features, such as ACH protections or image locking for checks in the US.
4. The Branch Renaissance
Branch use has fallen in recent years. Customers’ preferences have changed, and more customers are switching to apps and other forms of mobile banking for their needs.
There are some signs people may be returning to branches, especially as banks rethink and overhaul their branch services to enhance the customer experience.
Bank branch managers are under pressure to bring in more customers and retain existing customers. Reinventing the branch experience can be critical to meeting these goals now and in the near future. Adding ease, speed, and convenience to the branch experience can be valued.
5. Analytics Are More Important Than Ever
Some of your customers may be experiencing analytic fatigue, but the truth is analysis is more important than ever before.
That’s because cash management in banks is powered by data analysis. Today’s cash management equipment can help you manage your cash inventory. More advanced machines could collect more data about the transactions you process, such as how often you process particular currencies or which days are busiest for your business clients. To get these capabilities, we’re seeing more banks integrate smart cash management software into smart safes and coin and banknote recyclers. This software offers advanced reporting and analytics capabilities, which can provide value to banks and their customers.
Analytics help your branch deliver better service to your customers and manage your own cash more effectively.
6. Managing Costs
As the use of branches has declined, banks have looked for ways to reduce their costs. The right bank branch service solution could help you manage your peripherals more efficiently. The right service program could help you extend the life of your machines and get more out of them. Using a single all-branch service solution for all your bank branch peripherals can also reduce your service, maintenance, and repair costs.
Cash management in banks is evolving, and technology is playing a significant role. Having the right solutions can help your branch keep up.