Trust in banks is still suffering, but by changing aspects of the way the industry works, client confidence will return, according to the keynote speaker at the EBAday annual congress in Amsterdam.
Mark Buitenhek, global head of transaction services at ING, reminded attendees that while they may put a great deal of work in to ensuring smooth payments processing, customers will rarely consider them.
He said: “We know that the things we do touch the lives of our customers every day, but we must recognise that our customers are not thinking about us.”
He also pointed out that although the industry is recovering from the financial crisis, customers still have a deep mistrust of bankers, considering them to be greedy.
However, 56 percent of respondants to a recent ING survey said that they already use, or plan to use, their smartphones for mobile banking. Of those asked, 84 percent said they trusted their bank’s mobile banking app, while only 5 percent were inclined to trust ‘social’ payment apps.
The survey also showed that when it comes to shopping on mobile devices, a fast and easy payment system could increase turnover by up to 20 percent, highlighting the importance of fast and simple transactions.
“We need to open up our business models to faster innovation,” said Buitenhak, “but at the same time we must be sure that payments and accounts stay safe.”
He suggested that in the wake of the financial crisis, industry players have lost sight of what the customer wants and expects, and so the payments sector is “no longer the bank’s monopoly”.
According to Buitenhak, the industry must start to reinvent itself, and it should start by embracing innovation and infusing new talent.
“Yes, we are being disrupted. Yes, we are being attacked. Yes, we find it unfair that some of the regulators are pushing all kinds of regulation on us. But we have a fantastic opportunity here—84 percent of people still trust bank accounts,” he said.
“We have to change our attitudes, we have to change our way of working, but as long as we keep the customer focus in our minds, I am sure that jointly, we will be able to succeed as the banking industry, and make it to the next level.”
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