The importance of CX within a highly regulated environment

The advent of a new generation of customers is prompting organisations to rethink their existing operating models. As digital natives, Gen Z brings a whole new set of opportunities for brands to consider, but also a host of new challenges, particularly when it comes to offering the right channel of choice. However, for the financial sector in particular, organisations need to be cognisant of the range of customers that they now serve and consider how to meet their evolving expectations. Central to this is investing in the customer experience (CX).

The value of a great customer experience (CX) is well documented. Research tells us that those organisations classed as “leaders” in CX achieved more than double the revenue growth of those classed as “laggards”. Added to which, additional research shows that customer obsessed organisations report 51 percent better customer retention that those where CX isn’t a priority.

Clearly, investing in a stellar customer experience has significant worth. However, financial organisations must carefully balance the desire to deliver the experiences that customers crave, with the necessity of remaining compliant. From PCI DSS 4.0.1 to The Consumer Duty and GDPR – the financial sector is highly regulated and under pressure to ensure that the information around the customers and organisations they serve remains safe, and that information is used carefully to help identify any potentially vulnerable customers.

So, what are the key tools that organisations can adopt to both meet the onerous demands of regulation and elevate the customer experience?

1. Introduce AI to gather insights

Within every interaction with a financial services provider, customers leave trails of information. This data provides vital insights into a customer and their experience, acting as a valuable tool for financial service providers looking to deliver an enhanced service that is compliant. However, gathering this information at scale can be a challenge.

Using AI powered text/speech analytics financial organisations can rapidly comb through customer data to flag recurring themes, identify any potential customer vulnerability and highlight any problems that need to be resolved with service – elevating the customer experience in the process.

Additionally, that data can reveal any inconsistencies in how agents are treating customers and whether their conduct remains compliant. Regulations such as The Consumer Duty specifically state that financial services providers need to act in the best interests of the consumer and therefore having the ability to ensure that your agents are consistently handling customers with due care is essential. This is particularly important for financial organisations dealing with vulnerable customers.

Beyond insights, AI can also be used to help Contact Centre agents to work more efficiently. Most agents spend a large proportion of their time on after-call work, which increases exponentially with more complex calls. Utilising AI for summarisation removes the time-consuming element of manual summarisation delivering significant time savings, as well as removing ambiguity within the notes. By capturing better information on customers, organisations can deliver a better, and more personalised experience, next that time customer interacts with them.

2. Voice biometrics for ID & Verification

Designed to prevent fraud and money laundering and to ensure compliance with a variety of regulations, the Identity & Verification (ID&V) process is the starting point for every interaction with a financial services provider. However, while necessary, it can add an additional layer of frustration for customers – requiring them to remember numerous security details and spend additional time waiting to be fully authenticated.

Using voice biometrics is an ideal alternative to this process and enables customers to be automatically identified through the unique patterns in their voice. This streamlines the entire ID&V process – offering customers robust protection and providing a smoother customer journey, all whilst ensuring compliance.

Yet, in the quest to automate and simplify, it’s important to remember the full spectrum of the customers being served. As while voice biometrics may be the ideal option for younger, more digitally-savvy customers, it may not be a preferred option for everyone. Therefore, providing a choice of options is essential.

3. Secure and automate the payment process

In the same way that the ID&V process is the starting point of every call, a large number of conversations with financial service providers also involve the processing of payments.

PCI DSS 4.0.1 mandates that sensitive card holder information is held securely. Given that all calls are recorded, this usually means that Contact Centre agents need to manually pause their call recordings whilst taking card information and then manually restart the recording when the process is complete. However, this is subject to human error – potentially putting a consumer’s data at risk. 

Using automated pause and resume technology ensures that no sensitive data enters the call recording environment by automatically pausing and resuming the call recording once the sensitive data has been taken. This also works in an omnichannel environment using a secure payment link to enable customers to pay in a secure portal – where agents cannot see the data being inputted.

Given that customers want the financial organisations they entrust with their finances and their data to prioritise security, automating this part of the process, and removing the risk of human error, provides customers with the right assurances – and provides a smoother customer journey in the process.

Striking the right balance

In the world of finance, regulatory requirements will continue to evolve, adding increased pressure to organisations needing to comply. However, so too will customer expectations - especially from digital-first generations like Gen Z.

By modernising CX strategies with the right tools, financial service providers can strike the right balance between meeting complex compliance needs and delivering standout customer journeys. Those organisations that act swiftly and effectively will gain a clear edge – turning regulation into opportunity and CX into a competitive differentiator.