With so many services having gone online in the past decade, it’s not surprising that the banks have done the same. Internet, AI, and the advance of new technology have transformed banking, making it both more accessible and less personalized. Business owners are now facing a new challenge – the disrupted connection between bank branches and their customers. With so many services available online, it became harder to build long-lasting relationships with clients. Paradoxically, AI should become the solution to this problem. Let’s review the 7 main banking trends of 2025.
Now Banking Is Available to All
In the span of 10 years, from 2011 to 2021, the amount of people with bank accounts grew from 50% to 76%. That’s 1.6 billion clients who got access to financial institutions using apps or digital banking platforms. Online banking services have certainly improved everyone’s lives. Whether you need to make a transaction or apply for Payday Loans, you can do all that, and more, using a variety of online businesses. The use of open-source technologies and cloud services will reduce the cost of operations and allow companies to work more efficiently.
Scaling Is Inevitable
In the upcoming years, financial institutions will start looking more into expanding their businesses and building a stronger brand presence not only nationally, but also internationally. The segments of wealth management and commercial banking are on the rise right now, so banks specializing in those niches will have more growth opportunities. Of course, banks will still need to provide high-quality local services, but the general trend will push the brands to focus on scaling and expansion.
The Reinvention of Customer Experience
it’s true that banking has lost its human touch over the last decade. If you went into the branch of any bank 40 years ago, a manager would be eager to help you and answer all your questions. This would become the basis of your customer loyalty, forming that pleasant first impression that could last for years. Now, customers do most of the things online and when they need help, they get replies from chatbots, which does nothing to build long-lasting bonds with clients. Banks will need to start providing new experiences for their customers, combining the work of both human managers and gen AI tools.
Gen AI Will Change the Way Banks Operate
With so many technologies emerging every day, it’s safe to say that we’re in for a huge change, and it will come in the form of generative AI. According to studies, Gen AI could reduce the banks’ workload by 67%. While this number may seem scary at first, it’s actually a blessing in disguise. Naturally, some roles in the banking departments may become redundant, but new ones will definitely emerge. Just like with the introduction of Excel back in 1979, many people were worried that too many jobs would be eliminated because of this new tech. Instead, new roles emerged and it changed the banking game completely.
The New Era of Customer-Centric Approach
The growing demand for a personalized approach will make the banks reinvent their services and drop the product-centric line of development. Now businesses will need to focus on customers and their needs, creating experiences catering to their specific demands. Each customer segment will get its own set of banking solutions, and by 2030, clients should be able to choose their own financial products that will suit their needs the most. Thus, financial services will become more relevant and banks will significantly boost the level of products they offer.
AI Will Automate a Lot of Processes
While many people are concerned that the advance of AI can impair customer service and make it less personal, the truth is quite the opposite. Gen Ai is expected to reduce the banks’ operating costs by up to 60% in the span of the next few years. On top of that, it will also relieve customer service agents from repetitive tasks, giving them more free time to interact with clients and build stronger customer bonds. This, in turn, will increase customer satisfaction rates and boost the personnel’s efficacy to new heights. As a result, the banks will experience natural growth while driving more revenue and improving their services.
Open Source Is the Future of Banking
Cybersecurity and efficiency have been the growing concern of many financial institutions over the last few years. With so many things moving online, it became obvious just how redundant most of the banking systems were. Right now banks are moving from using those tried and tested operational systems, switching to modern open-source ones like Linux. They offer much more agility, efficacy, and improved safety measures that will put both clients and decision-makers at ease. In just a few years, banks are expected to use these improved systems that will allow them to provide better services and grow their businesses exponentially.
We are living in a day and age when technological advancements are inevitable. With so many things moving online, the banks have also adjusted their services accordingly. Nevertheless, in doing so, many financial institutions lost the human touch, and the products they provide lost their appeal because of that. In the upcoming years, banks will need to ditch the product-centric approach and answer the growing customer demand for personalized services. In this regard, Gen Ai will automate a lot of repetitive tasks while helping bank workers free more time to communicate with customers directly.
