How Are Fintechs Leveraging Technology to Enhance the Consumer Experience?

It might seem like a lifetime ago, but until relatively recently, the only way to access financial services was to visit a bank branch or call an insurance company or investment provider over the phone. Now all that has changed, and it has to be said, for the better. These days, you can access any number of financial services online in seconds. You can get approved for a loan, open a savings account or buy goods from shops all in a few clicks. And for that, we have to thank the exponential advancements in financial technology.

Fintech, as it’s known, has made financial services accessible and improved the customer experience for us all. But there’s no sense that fintech’s work is done. The evolution marches on, with a constant stream of innovations helping to bring new levels of functionality and improve the experience of consumers around the world.

Here are a few ways fintech firms are moving the goalposts and continuing to enhance the customer experience.

Faster decisions

Convenience and speed are the two primary selling points in the short-term credit industry; lenders are always on the lookout for new ways to get money into borrowers’ accounts more quickly. However, they still have to conduct the necessary affordability checks and make responsible lending decisions. 

The lending platform known as Wonga, a South African short-term credit provider, was among the first to pioneer ground-breaking fintech algorithms to automate large sections of the risk analysis process. Using the right financial data the company was able to dramatically reduce loan approval times and help customers get faster access to their funds. 

Its current solution is an integration with Stitch, which allows the Wonga team to instantly view the transaction and balance history of prospective borrowers. They can then verify their income and assess the affordability of a loan very quickly, enabling them to make lending decisions in less than 10 minutes for the majority of customers.

Frictionless customer engagement

It wouldn’t be right to discuss new technology in any sector without mentioning the stratospheric rise of artificial intelligence language models such as ChatGPT. They are currently revolutionising the customer experience in the banking sector and transforming the way we interact with technology. 

One of the main functions of AI language models is to offer rapid response times and a 24/7 service for customer enquiries. However, its ability to evaluate massive volumes of data, spot patterns and even make decisions allows AI to provide more than just stock answers to common queries. It can also offer tailored financial advice and make product and service recommendations based on a customer’s financial position and requirements.

It also has many benefits for the banks themselves. Artificial intelligence can free up employees to work on more difficult tasks. It can also reduce costs and give them a better understanding of their customers so they can provide better products and services. 

Enhancing relationships with customers and prospects

Customer relationship management (CRM) technology is a recent advancement that’s helping fintech firms streamline their relationships with prospects and improve their customer services.

Fintech firms can use the software to track all their interactions with customers and prospects, such as emails, phone calls and social media interactions. The software uses that information to create an accurate profile of the customer and their history with the business, including their preferences, concerns, questions and other requirements.

Fintech businesses can then personalise their communications with customers and prospects accordingly. They can create more appealing promotional deals and offers and provide updates about products and services they know the customer is interested in. They can also upsell and cross-sell services and easily identify which customers might be at a heightened risk of taking their business elsewhere.  

How has fintech used technology to improve your experiences as a customer? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.