Article

How Wells Fargo continuously improves the ATM customer experience

The FI aims to give customers what they want in their ATM and branch experience before they even realize that they want it.

October 21, 2013 by Suzanne Cluckey — Owner, Suzanne Cluckey Communications

Get the customer experience right and the business case will follow.

This was the message from Jonathan Velline, EVP of ATM banking and store strategy for Wells Fargo, on day one of the ATM, Debit & Prepaid Forum in Las Vegas.

Velline said that when banks base their distribution strategy on average cost, they miss a big piece of the story.

"I think the real problem for us is that our customers are not thinking about average cost to serve; they're not choosing a bank that has the lowest channel cost, they're choosing banks with the best experience," he said.

"They choose us based on what they like and so we have to create a model, a strategy, an experience that they want. And that bar is being set by Amazon, by Samsung, by Apple, by Nordstrom, by Zappos. It's being set by a lot of banks, too."

The Wells Fargo ATM experience

Wells Fargo has chalked up a number of ATM "firsts" since the FI debuted the channel in the '70s. But from a purely relational perspective, one of the FI's most important ATM introductions was "You Know Me," which rolled out in 2007. "It really replaced the standard ATM experience," Velline said, "introducing a whole new level of personalized service at the ATM."

While customers already had the ability to set up favorites at ATMs, many didn't want to take the time to do it, he said. You Know Me went a step further, figuring out what transactions customers carried out most often at the ATM and making them available automatically.

The ATM immediately addressed customers in their preferred language; it brought up "My Favorites," three transaction shortcuts based on customer transaction patterns; it offered receipts by text or email and a Cash Tracker feature to help customers manage their spending; and it allowed charitable donations as a convenient way for customers to support their community.

Today, all of this is done through a new interface that incorporates the now-familiar look and feel of mobile touchscreen technology.

"And customers didn't say, 'Hey Wells Fargo, we really need a new interface,' but when we launched it, they noticed," he said. "There's not a big business case in allowing your customers to donate to charity. But we built it anyway. ... It's helped us build a deeper bond with our customers that we wouldn't have been able to do if we'd merely been cost focused."

Bringing ATMs closer to your customers

When Wells Fargo found that real estate needs for ATMs were inhibiting its ability to reach its customers in some cases, the bank turned to NCR to build a smaller ATM.

The result was the NCR SelfServ 37 walk-up ATM that is compact but fully functional, weatherized and 40 percent smaller than existing units, so it could go more places.

"Which means I can get closer to where the customer works or shops or lives. And that's a big part of our distribution strategy, too," Velline said. "So it's thinking about what are we trying to deliver to our customer; how do we get that right interface to them and get closer to them so that we can provide a better experience."

The Wells Fargo store experience

The ATM is only half of the story, Velline said. About 80 percent of Wells Fargo customers still visit a branch within a 6-month period. But, he said, if you go to most banks, it's like "a walk back in history," an experience that is completely foreign to the digital world that has evolved outside of banks.

However, this doesn't necessarily mean that the branch has outlived its purpose, as the 80 percent figure attests. "It's not the branch that's dead, it's the workflow that's dead," Velline said.

The bank worked to bring its processes into the 21st century, meeting customer expectations at the teller line by eliminating paper processes, creating consistent cross-channel experiences and moving from paper slips to touchscreens.

Moving from a paper-based process to one that's digitally streamlined has provided greater efficiency for the bank, a better experience for the team member ("our team members are Millennials, too"), and a better experience for the customer, Velline said.

The 'neighborhood bank'

Wells Fargo worked again with NCR to develop a model that would allow the bank to fit in places where it hadn't been able to go before.

The new 1,200-square-foot store looks like a standard ATM vestibule after hours. But when the bank staff comes in, the vestibule walls are "pushed back" to create an open environment where customers and bankers can interact without a teller counter separating them.

Most transactions at the store are carried out on self-service devices; the transaction can be either self-service or full service, depending on the customer's needs, Velline said.

A button on the device's touchscreen allows a customer to request personal assistance from a team member. The team member, equipped with a tablet that is in communication with the machine, is able to see the customer transaction and transaction detail, so that he or she is prepared to discuss the customer's needs.

The idea behind the neighborhood bank is to complement the team member's capabilities, Velline said. "This is not a self-service play; this is helping our team in delivering for our customers."

Prioritize design by constituents

It's important for FIs to start working out their strategy looking at the people involved in the process, rather than the business case, Velline said.

If the program is designed properly for the teller, it will drive engagement for the team member, and this in turn will lead to the satisfaction of the customer. And if it incorporates a community component — it's greener or raises money for charity or helps the community succeed in some way — then it also has the benefit of being virtuous, Velline said.

"If you can get those things right, the business case will work itself out," he said. "If you start with those things, you can work the business case to support a better customer experience and a better team experience."

Read more about ATM innovation.

About Suzanne Cluckey

Suzanne’s editorial career has spanned three decades and encompassed all B2B and B2C communications formats. Her award-winning work has appeared in trade and consumer media in the United States and internationally.