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Mobile: Not a unique channel, but an integral part of every delivery channel
Today, few financial transactions cannot be completed in full or in part on a smartphone or tablet; they've become such an integral endpoint that all channels exploit their capabilities.
September 9, 2016 by Richard Buckle — Founder and CEO, Pyalla Technologies, LLC
Like a lot of people, I walk into the kitchen first thing each morning to find strings of power cords dangling from countertops.
Phones, tablets, keyboards — all being charged. It's so much a part of our daily routine that I have forgotten how we lived previously.
The pervasiveness of smartphones and tablets is also having an impact on the industry events designed to promote their broader industry adoption. This was brought home to me in a material way recently when I caught up with the folks working to promote the upcoming 2016 Bank Customer Experience Summit, Sept. 19-21 in Chicago.
If you haven't decided to attend this summit as yet, I would strongly recommend that you make it a priority. You can register now and save 30 percent by using the promotional code PYALLA30. You can check out sessions and speakers for the event by visiting the online agenda.
A few days ago, I posted about the summit at the NonStop community blog, "Real Time View." In that post, I noted that the 2016 Bank Customer Experience Summit, originally branded as the The ATM & Mobile Innovation Summit, is now "dedicated to exploring next-gen self-service, the reinvented branch, digital banking, mobile payments — and the people who use them."
The transition of this event from a summit devoted to mobile innovation surrounding to one that focuses on customer experience that caught my attention. In a none-too-subtle manner, the change in branding is a true reflection of massive impact smartphones and tablets have had on financial institutions everywhere.
Deposit checks via your smartphone? Check!
Person-to-person transfers? Check!
Microloans? Check!
And so on and so on. Today, few financial transactions cannot be completed in full or in part via a smartphone or tablet. These mobile devices have become such an integral endpoint that all channels exploit their capabilities.
So no, mobile isn't just another channel, it's the device of choice for all channels, which means that incorporating it into every service delivery vehicle is mandatory.
SOA? Microservices! Apps! HTML5 and more! These have all entered the vocabulary of line-of-business owners at every FI.
A new client out of Scotland, TCM Solutions, has developed a highly successful business providing managed services for major banks running HPE NonStop systems. The endeavor to introduce themselves to the wider world has led them to exploit the capabilities of smartphones and tablets.
The company will publish a monthly newsletter to be hosted on a new web site that can be accessed from any browser. More importantly, they're optimizing this content for mobile devices, knowing that we all just want to keep up with what's happening around the industry, and that we take advantage of the long lines at Starbucks to peruse information that's relevant to us.
The message, of course, is that it's the delivery and the user experience that count, something we should keep in as we contemplate externalizing our next killer app.
We might carry less cash, but we still shop. We might wear our computers and be constantly on the move, but we still find time to stop by a coffee shop to check out all that's happening.
The oversight of our financial affairs is something we now do 24/7, even as we are less likely to take out our billfold, preferring whatever payment gadget of the day has captured our attention.
As I concluded in my NonStop post:
While the instruments of commerce have changed dramatically of late, we have remained essentially the same through all this change … And what persists is the value we always derive whenever we get together at key industry and user events. Looking forward to seeing many of you in Chicago. Should you see me passing by, don't hesitate stopping me to discuss anything that is on your mind!
photo istock
About Richard Buckle
Richard Buckle is the founder and CEO of Pyalla Technologies, LLC. He has enjoyed a long association with the Information Technology (IT) industry as a user, vendor, and more recently, as an industry commentator, thought leader, columnist and blogger. Richard participates in the HPE VIP Community where he is part of their influencer team.
