Banks face barriers to growth, like market instabilities that increase their operating costs and decrease their profits. Meanwhile, the quality of their service can be compromised, directly impacting their customers' experience. This last concept is essential for people: why choose one bank over another? Which products or services do I prefer to acquire from this financial institution and another? What is the value that each one offers me?
In this article, we will understand why working on the Customer Experience allows us to have operational resilience, improve the public's perception of our business, increase productivity and improve the efficiency of banks. All this through a better understanding of our customers and our internal processes.
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Process management is a way of structuring the organization according to the needs and objectives of internal and external customers. Thanks to this, the definition of strategies, the measurement of goals, and the analysis of the organization become simple tasks that favor the improvement and control of the business.
Consequently, an improvement in the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of services is achieved, offering a better customer experience, which translates into an increase in sales, retention, and brand reputation.
The banking industry can benefit from process management by systematically removing the friction points that most deteriorate the experience: long response times, duplicated steps, unclear requirements, contradictory information between channels, and poor communication during critical moments such as claims, credit approvals, or fraud alerts. By mapping and redesigning these processes, banks can simplify interactions, provide faster and more transparent responses, and ensure that customers always know what is happening and what the next step will be. This not only increases satisfaction, but also reduces anxiety, perceived risk, and the likelihood of abandoning a transaction or switching to a competitor.
In parallel, more robust and consistent processes strengthen the perception of security and reliability. When customers see that their transactions are processed correctly the first time, that incidents are resolved quickly, and that the bank proactively notifies them of relevant events, their trust in the institution grows. This trust is essential for adopting digital channels, increasing product usage, and deepening the commercial relationship.
To achieve this, however, banks must move beyond isolated initiatives and develop a deep, data-driven understanding of three dimensions: their customers (behaviors, needs, expectations, and financial life cycle), their internal operations (how work actually flows across areas and systems), and the market context (competitive dynamics, regulation, and emerging technologies such as fintech, open banking, and digital wallets).
Fortunately, today there are proven methodologies and specialized tools focused on these objectives. Approaches such as Customer Journey Mapping, Service Design, and the ICX Process Transformation Framework (PTF)® make it possible to visualize end-to-end journeys and underlying processes. Technologies such as process mining, BPM platforms, CRM and CX suites, and robotic process automation (RPA) provide the analytical and execution layer to discover real bottlenecks, automate repetitive tasks, orchestrate omnichannel workflows, and monitor performance in real time. Together, these capabilities enable banks not only to correct current pain points, but also to build a scalable, efficient, and customer-centric operating model.
Competition and globalization have a significant effect on people, generating high expectations. We have all had good and bad experiences with a product or service and ordinary and extraordinary experiences. For this reason, we know why we prefer one brand over another, and the same thing happens to us when looking for a financial institution. So what are the barriers that can prevent banks from delivering that memorable experience?
A typical pattern in this sector is the tendency to protect traditional services. There are undoubtedly products that will not disappear; however, how they are offered can change how the customer perceives their value. Controlled technology infrastructure along the value chain can be one of the biggest pains. It is not just about delivering a product but also about how we inform, distribute, generate and manage it.
Knowledge about the reality and context surrounding our customers is indispensable. Consumption patterns vary according to time, location, age, gender, and even people's education. New generations, for example, have an innate understanding of technology and high expectations of digital experiences. If our banking systems are compatible with today's technological tools, it will be easier for us to live up to these expectations.
Another major challenge is the lack of standardization of processes and a large number of manual tasks. While this is common in all industries, managing sensitive customer information and how we solve their problems or improve their quality of life significantly impacts how customers perceive their banks.
If we do not have defined sequences of activities in a visual and easy-to-understand format, we cannot identify weak points, it is more difficult to automate, and we will not be able to guarantee the effectiveness of a transition to the digital world. In addition, we will certainly not have control over time-consuming processes, bottleneck tasks, and limited service options.
For this reason, it is important to understand the customer journey and how you should build the processes to help them complete their tasks.
On the other hand, the experience and efforts of other banks pose a threat to those who fail to understand the market and adapt to change. Additionally, the emergence of technology trends such as Fintech, which provide products or services such as digital payments, personal finance management, consulting and marketing platforms, credit granting, foreign exchange, and lending, to name a few; is also a reason to question the way we deliver value to our customers.
The value proposition is that differentiator that makes a customer prefer one company over another. There are different types of value propositions, from innovation, performance improvement, and customization, to branding, accessibility, and convenience. Defining our value proposition under a customer-centric methodology can help us design better products and services by considering the frustrations and benefits expected by those who seek it.
>>How to map the customer journey in 2026 to reduce churn and complaints<<
We can better define our business model with a specified value proposition in a visual format that is easy to understand and communicate. A business model is an organizational structure that ensures the value proposition is technically feasible, economically viable, and desirable to customers. So it helps us to identify the key channels, processes, and resources that will benefit the customer experience. So, defining a suitable business model can help us combat rising capital costs, falling interest rates, or declining return on equity while ensuring that customers receive the products and services they require at the right time and through the right channel.
According to an article published in May 2022 by DataProt, during the six months before its publication, 79% of smartphone owners in the United States used their devices to make purchases. I have heard people from the new generation say that banking websites "are for dinosaurs." Many prefer to avoid email and choose media like WhatsApp or social networks like Instagram and TikTok to view content.
Soon, these generations will have to open student bank accounts, and some will start working; this is what we mean by understanding our customers; a better knowledge of how they learn, what their motivation is, their current situation, and their goals, gives a north for the definition of action plans, redesign of physical and digital channels, continuous process improvement projects and improvement of products and services. So, what are the first steps to follow?
To define a strategy, we must first give it a focus. Suppose we want to focus our operations on improving efficiency, reducing costs, and increasing the bank's reputation. In that case, we first need to understand what we do that generates value for the customer and what does not.
We recommend profiling consumer types through methodologies such as Personas, which are semi-fictional representations of ideal customers. In a visual format, this tool allows us to have a series of assumptions of the demographic and psychographic elements that identify them, in addition to introducing attitudinal components that enable us to generate empathy.
Investing resources to carry out constant research allows us to keep up to date with their demands and detect changes in demographic patterns; this makes it easier to segment customers and study them to personalize services and products.
Each type of customer has its own needs. A student is not looking to acquire an account to open a business, and a worker is not necessarily looking for an investor account. By understanding the customer types, we can design acquisition processes tailored to each; this identifies the moments of truth, i.e., the most important touchpoints, with which we can know where the most value is generated and personalize the experience.
In addition, this serves as a map of the work teams, tools, and means necessary to meet the objectives of each customer at each stage of their Journey, making opportunities for improvement visible.
>>Welcome aboard: Customer Journey (CX)<<
Identifying bottlenecks is more difficult if we are not clear about the flow of information and work. Standardization means having a step-by-step guide to the tasks we need to do to meet an objective. If we do not have a process diagram and have not defined the sequence, we cannot understand where the errors that cause reprocesses and backlogs come from.
By having a defined process, we can measure productivity and efficiency, identifying the weak points that need to be improved. By analyzing them, we can propose solutions that order activities, eliminate unnecessary tasks, reassign personnel according to workloads and capabilities, and, most importantly, we can generate automation.
If a disorderly process is automated, the disorder will be automated, so it is essential first to define, measure and analyze the processes to improve them. With this, the best tools and platforms can be identified to develop integrated information systems that automate processes. Finally, metrics and indicators are established to give us control. This way, we can streamline operations, offering faster, simpler, and error-free services that will improve customer perception of our quality.
Some examples of what can be automated in banks are as follows:
I am providing you this link to explore what has been working in the industry regarding the automation of banking processes.
When a bank undertakes an integrated program to enhance customer experience, drive digital transformation, and institutionalize continuous improvement, the impact goes far beyond isolated initiatives or individual channels. These efforts reshape the value proposition, redefine how decisions are made, and change the way work is executed on a daily basis. In practical terms, this translates into measurable effects on three core dimensions of the organization: business strategy (how the bank competes and grows), management (how it plans, governs, and aligns teams), and operations (how services are produced, delivered, and improved). To make these impacts clearer and easier to prioritize, we will group the main expected benefits into these three categories.
By making risks visible end to end—across products, channels, and critical processes—the bank can systematically identify operational, compliance, credit, and reputational exposures early, define concrete mitigation and contingency plans, and reduce the likelihood and severity of negative impacts on profitability and on customers.
In parallel, the organization begins to measure and continuously monitor process performance with clear indicators (such as cycle times, error rates, rework, abandonment, and satisfaction at key moments of the journey). This creates a fact-based management model that simplifies decision-making, allows priorities to be set objectively, and aligns investments with the goals defined in the strategic plan.
A better understanding of how products and services are designed, sold, delivered, and serviced—connected to real customer needs—also improves their implementation. New offerings can be launched with clearer value propositions, more consistent experiences across channels, and processes that support adoption and profitability throughout the lifecycle of the relationship.
Taken together, these capabilities provide management with a broader and more integrated overview of the business. With a clear view of customers, processes, risks, and financial impact, it becomes easier to design and adjust strategies that are not only effective in gaining and retaining customers, but also sustainable and profitable in a volatile and highly regulated market.
To better detail what can be done in a bank, some success stories on the Internet document the impacts of developing experience improvement projects.
An example is the study Emerald Insight published regarding inefficiencies in credit departments. Through process definition and mapping, they identified the sources of backlogs that took eight to nine days to complete applications, account creation, and card issuance. Thanks to redesigning their processes, they reduced the cycle time by half, taking advantage of the available resource and reallocating it, obtaining, as a consequence, an improvement in customer satisfaction regarding these services.
On the other hand, Fiserv published an article showing the case of Howard Bank. This business wanted to increase the contact time with customers during the account opening process, for which they first had to clean up their processes. By defining, analyzing, and improving them, the staff had more time to talk to customers, understand their needs in detail, and improve their services. Howard Bank reduced account opening time to one hour and twenty minutes by reducing manual work and automation; this improved their productivity and allowed for easy training of new staff. Another consequence was the ability to go deeper into the technological tools that employees were using, so they could take better advantage of them by engaging customers more.
AI Multiple also published an article with 55 success stories applied in various industries. A specific example is VTB Bank in Russia, where a project to improve loan processes achieved results such as reducing processing time by 30%, increasing the number of accounts handled on time from 68% to 98%, uncovering employee training needs, quadrupling the efficiency of processing time and improving customer satisfaction.
Customer experience is a factor that makes a difference in competitive advantage. Banks need to understand better the needs of each type of consumer to strategize, innovate and grow. However, they also need to study their internal health, clean up processes and reduce all the obstacles that divert attention from strategic business objectives. Designing better processes and systems and using your resources and tools can generate savings, service quality, and customer satisfaction. All this increases your operational resilience and ensures future sustainability.
Do you really know what's going wrong with your customer experience?