With so many cutting-edge tools and technologies available, customer experience management in banking has become increasingly complex. Customers have come to expect a wide variety of services with options they can tailor to their unique lifestyles, whether it’s banking after hours, on the run, or in-person, at a branch. With each of these possibilities, banks need to provide high-quality, efficient, and personalized service in order to remain competitive and maintain long-term customer relationships.
While many financial institutions have leaned on digital banking as a cost-effective and user-friendly option that can fill the gaps left by traditional in-person banking, it’s important to recognize the potential role that ATMs can play in enhancing customer experiences. When equipped with the right technology, like interactive tellers and robust, integrated transaction options, ATMs can present the best of both worlds to your customers: convenience and personalization.
In this post, we’ll explore the ways modern ATMs can be leveraged to improve your customers’ in-branch and digital or offsite banking experience, promoting loyalty and overall customer satisfaction.
Enhanced Self-Service Capabilities
Gone are the days when cash was king. With consumer cash usage declining, financial institutions must adapt their ATMs to become more than just a cash withdrawal device. Otherwise, legacy ATM technology will render ATMs to become a burden to banks, rather than a valuable and cost-effective service.
Instead, ATMs should function like mini branches, offering services beyond checking balances and withdrawing funds. Not only can this diminish the impact of staffing shortages by moving basic services outside the branch, it can also add value to your customers, making it easier for them to perform banking activities beyond restricted branch hours and locations.
Smart ATMs and ITMs are the future of banking technology, as they can enable customers to independently complete other tasks such as opening an account, transferring funds, depositing checks, or even connecting face-to-face with a customer service representative. With the expertise of an ATM service provider like Shields Business Solutions, customers have the flexibility to perform multiple banking actions without ever having to enter a branch.
Omnichannel Banking
Your technology-enhanced services need to be able to speak to each other, share information, and create a streamlined user experience. Whether a customer wants to use an online banking portal on their laptop, a mobile banking app on their phone, or swing by an ATM while they’re running errands, their options should be consistent and integrated across the board.
When you fully connect customer data into one channel to make a cohesive user experience, you can create what’s called an ‘omnichannel’. In a tech-first world, multichannel integration is becoming not just a cool new feature, but a customer expectation. FIs that don’t adapt could suffer from a declining brand image and loss of customers as they switch to banks with more high-tech offerings.
However, offering this advanced technology is easily made possible by ATM service providers who have access to the latest banking technologies, taking the burden of updating antiquated, non-integrated ATMs off the bank staff.
Continuous Innovations and Upgrades
Keeping your ATMs up and running, whenever your customers (and potential customers) need them, is essential to maintaining an image of reliability, quality, and trustworthiness. Unfortunately, keeping a fleet of ATMs well-maintained and in perfect, working order can be a tall order for many financial intuitions. From software upgrades to receipt paper, ATM maintenance can be a daunting, never-ending task.
When you outsource your ATM fleet management to seasoned experts, your ATMs can receive real-time monitoring and cash replenishment, on-call maintenance, and regular updates to enhance security and keep your machines not only functional but empowered with the latest technologies and interfaces. With an average uptime Service Level Agreement (SLA) of 98%, Shields ensures maintenance issues don’t impact your customers’ positive experiences.
Expanded Geographic Accessibility
Looking to expand your customer reach? ATMs can provide a simple, resourceful way to reach consumers in new geographic areas, testing possible new locations while growing brand awareness.
One issue with ATM self-management is that, due to operational inefficiencies and security concerns, many financial institutions are hesitant to place ATMs outside of their usual area of operations. With ATM bank outsourcing services, FIs can safely and efficiently expand their fleet and reach customers further away from branches—without adding pressure to staff.
When expanding your outreach, remember that convenience is key when it comes to consumer satisfaction with ATMs. Placing ATMs in accessible and highly-visible locations such as gas stations and malls where bank customers frequent can increase customer satisfaction and overall brand image.
Alleviates Frontline Staff
Many banking activities require or can benefit from a face-to-face interaction. But there are many tasks, from depositing checks to transferring funds, which can be done easily at an ATM, alleviating a bank’s frontline workers from tedious ATM processing tasks. Freeing up staff time isn’t just a benefit for your bank’s bottom line. It can also promote a positive customer experience.
Moving run-of-the-mill tasks to self-service systems can reduce the frustrating experience customers face when waiting in line—a common complaint in today’s bustling, tech-first world. In fact, 86% of US consumers have left a store in the last 12 months due to long lines.
Additionally, when tellers spend less time on these tasks, that means they can allot more time to helping customers who require one-on-one assistance. When ATM cash management services, sourcing, distribution, installation, operations, maintenance, security, and compliance are all handled by a third-party company like Shields, it frees up bank staff to focus on their face-to-face customers.
Increased Security
As anyone in the financial world will tell you, criminals are always on the lookout for vulnerabilities to take advantage of. From cyber-crime to in-person robberies, banks are a constant target for criminals, and ATMs can be an obvious choice.
When a bank location is the site of a robbery or a bank is the victim of a data breach, it can leave consumers feeling wary about entering branches or trusting their personal information and money with that bank. However, keeping up with the newest threats and responding by implementing the latest strategies and technologies to protect customers’ assets and trust can be costly and difficult to manage, especially for small to mid-sized FIs. Outsourcing your ATM management to trained and armed professionals decreases both employee and customer security risks.
Heightened Product Awareness Through ATM Marketing
We mentioned this above, but it bears repeating. ATMs give you an unparalleled opportunity to get your brand out there in the world, pairing it with a user experience that builds confidence and trust in your financial institution. But beyond signage and branding, modern ATMs can be used as a marketing tool for banks looking to cross-sell and upsell their products within the user interface. FIs can easily connect with their customers through various touchpoints in the ATM experience, such as the home screen, processing screen, and thank you screen.
How does this benefit customers? To effectively utilize ATMs as a marketing tool, the onus is on your financial institution to provide the best experience possible. This ultimately encourages FIs to take extra steps to ensure this is the case. Additionally, with a fully integrated system, ads can be targeted to display products that best meet an individual customer’s needs. For instance, a high-yield savings account ad can be shown to a customer who only has a checking account, introducing them to potential account options that can provide financial advantages.
When you use a robust ATM management that employs the latest technologies to maintain ATMs and provide a consistent, quality user experience from start to finish, your financial institution can add many layers of customer benefits.
Shields Business Solutions Offers End-to-End ATM and ITM Sales and Management for Your Financial Institution
ATM outsourcing can not only reduce burdens on your staff, it can also improve your customers’ perception of your financial institution, enhance security for both your bank and your customers, and help you build long-lasting relationships by providing customer value in the form of simple and convenient services.
Shields Business Solutions offers a number of ATM services to improve your financial institution’s customer experience, including:
- ATM Management Services to ensure your ATMs and ITMs are always online, integrated, and secure.
- Cash-In-Transit Services to reduce risk of theft and safely transport cash in secure, armored vehicles with highly-trained staff.
- ATM Branding to further your FIs customer outreach.
At Shields, we strive to be one of the best ATM installation and management companies in our region. We work with financial institutions up and down the Mid-Atlantic Coast, from Harrisburg, Allentown, Bethlehem, Wilkes-Barre, and Greater Philadelphia in Pennsylvania to the NYC boroughs, Long Island, and Suffolk County in New York, as well as Northern Delaware and all of New Jersey.
Ready to learn more about us? Schedule a no-pressure meeting with our team to learn about how Shields can enhance your customers’ user experience.
