Account opening, whether digital or in-person, is one of the most important processes to get right for your customers and members. It’s likely the first interaction they have with your organization and, as we all know, first impressions matter. 

However, the reality is many financial services institutions (FSI) struggle to deliver on customer expectations. In fact, a third of large FSIs in the US see more than 75 percent of their digital deposit applications abandoned, according to the Digital Banking Report. The report reveals that customers often abandon opening digital accounts when the process is lengthy, complex, or requires visiting a physical branch. 

If you’re looking to improve your account opening rates, but don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place. 

In this blog, we’ll suggest ways you can optimize the experience without completely reinventing the wheel or investing in new software. 

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Optimizing the digital account opening process with the tools you already have 

You will no doubt already follow a set process for digital account opening, complete with your own toolkit of technology and documentation. You may find parts of your process work smoothly — but other parts do not. Perhaps your customers find it difficult to keep track of their application status, or they’re frustrated with lengthy verification processes. 

Before you jump ahead and invest in a new solution you may not need, optimize the technology you already have: 

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1. Complete ID checks digitally 

Verifying a customer or member’s identity is critical for complying with Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines and other anti-money laundering regulations. 

However, if your digital process is long or you ask for too many documents, it can severely inconvenience your clients. Indeed, a staggering 92 percent of retail banking customers are frustrated with KYC processes and document requests. 

To mitigate this, try to extend your existing platforms and their capabilities. For instance, you might use platforms such as DocuSign, Plaid, and Salesforce, to incorporate digital ID verification. 

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2. Connect your data and break down silos 

The biggest lesson in delivering effective digital process innovation is ensuring the optimization of your existing tech stack. Often, organizations can be tempted to buy the latest and greatest point solution that solves a specific need. But a growing number of disconnected platforms will only increase the risk of data silos. And the more silos your business has, the harder it’ll be to access client data, guarantee accuracy, and streamline processes. 

In the case of digital account opening, it’s best practice to refine your tech stack wherever you can and connect your data via APIs. Ideally, you need all your data from all your systems to filter seamlessly into one accessible place. This will not only improve process efficiency, but data governance and compliance too. 

That being said, if your account opening process runs on a legacy system that isn’t well connected, you may tackle this differently. If you’re not ready to replace the system entirely, but you’re eager to improve your data hygiene and connectivity, we’d suggest digital decoupling. This is where you separate applications — such as your account opening system — and place them into their own container. This results in a less interdependent environment and allows you to innovate onto your core system. That way, can balance convenience with innovation, and mitigate your data silo problems. 

If your FSI doesn’t have the IT resources in-house to bring your data together, we’d advise reaching out to an expert.

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3. Use accurate, real-time user profiles 

Harmonizing your customer data in a CRM platform such as Salesforce will allow you to build accurate, up-to-date customer profiles. This ensures you have one single source of the truth. 

Different departments can access these profiles to ensure harmony when navigating the account opening process. For instance, if a customer wishes to pause their application to phone their local branch and ask a question, the representative on the other end of the line can access the relevant user details quickly. This will speed up queries and, as a result, the overall progress of the application. 

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4. Adopt workflow automation 

To reduce bottlenecks and improve operational efficiency, deploy automated workflows wherever possible in your existing tech stack. For example, within Salesforce Financial Services Cloud you can: 

• Check user identity. Using user identification data in Salesforce (or another source), you can apply automated verification workflows before sharing sensitive information with a customer or member. 

• Notify departments and make requests automatically. Different departments may have to handle different steps of the digital account opening process. Within Salesforce, you can automatically notify the relevant employees when a task is with them for action or review. For instance, when a new customer or member requires a credit check. 

• Personalize client status updates. You can use automated marketing workflows to check in on abandoned applications, provide account tips or support, and deliver personalized offers. 
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Making the most of your financial tech stack 

By optimizing your tech stack, unifying your data, and making the most of automated workflows, you’ll improve the speed and security of your digital account opening processes. By extension, you’ll also make life easier for your teams and customer base. 

However, while there is a lot you can do without updating or replacing your existing technology, there are occasions when you may have no choice. For instance, when implementing digital ID checks or building out mobile applications, new software investments may be necessary. The key lesson is to understand when and how to update. These changes won’t always happen overnight; sometimes the best approach is to gradually improve. 

To help you navigate this — as well as your overall digital and data enablement journey — contact us today.