FIs shift consumers, employees to digital channels, SRM survey reveals

SRM (Strategic Resource Management) has polled its bank and credit union clients and prospect base to understand their early response and evolving strategy for combating the effects of COVID-19 in the US on their operations.

Given the constantly changing circumstances around COVID-19, this information was gathered between March 17-27, 2020 to capture more than a single point in time view. Of the responding institutions, 82% rated their online and mobile channels as ‘vital’ to operations during the pandemic.

Additionally, 79% of institutions have provided further education on the use of remote channels as a means of providing consumers unfamiliar or uncomfortable with digital channels access to their money and needed financial services during a time of high economic anxiety.

Perhaps more surprisingly, nearly two-thirds of respondents are allowing more than half of their staff to work from home. Banking has traditionally been viewed as a business that would not accommodate remote work models due to the various regulatory constraints that define how things operate. However, there is a considerable part of bank and credit union operations that can utilise a remote work model.

Over half of banks and credit unions expect ‘severe’ impact. Survey responses place estimates of the expected duration of the economic hangover almost evenly spread from ‘less than six months’ all the way to ‘18-24 months’. This lack of clarity also plays out in banks and credit unions’ approaches to internal projects such as new feature rollouts and system upgrades.

SRM anticipates that financial institutions will renew their focus on realising additional cost savings through vendor relationships, business process improvements and the application of automation.