As we enter a new decade, it’s beginning to feel more like the future. Technology is progressing faster and faster every year, both in the consumer and business to business markets. In order to stay afloat in this incredibly competitive and fast-moving market, business owners need to stay up to date on the latest tech trends.
One of the biggest industries sweeping the financial technology market is online banking. Many businesses are starting to find it more profitable to move their services online, banks too are discovering success in following this path. So what does this mean? Well, for starters, those who use online banks are finding it easier to streamline their shopping experiences. For businesses, this means that optimizing their payment processing to sync up with these online banks is key in staying successful. Here are a few reasons why your business needs to be optimizing for digital banking.
Faster Payments Allow for Faster Sales
It’s no secret that we live in an age of instant gratification: consumers want to make their purchases quickly and conveniently. After all, this is what has led to the success of Amazon and other major e-commerce stores. Why leave the comforts of your own home when online stores offer same-day shipping on anything you want?
This desire for instant gratification has impacted the market so much that online banking services are now finding ways to deposit paychecks two days early, making a great display of how the need for quick and easy to use services are becoming the norm. However, it’s not enough to simply recognize this instant gratification market, it requires action. However, this doesn’t mean that you need to follow in Amazon’s footsteps and provide same-day shipping.
One of the easiest paths a business can take to increased profitability is by cleaning up its sales funnel. Making the payment process simple and easy to use will reduce the number of abandoned shopping carts and boost conversions. If you run a web store, the fewer steps you have between your home page and the final “Confirm Order” button, the greater your conversion rate is going to be. This is because it allows consumers to make more impulse buys.
Online Banking Allows for Recurring Payments
A good number of online banks are making sure to optimize their own business models to allow recurring, automatic payments, for things as simple as streaming service subscriptions, all the way to loan payments. By making your business compatible with these recurring payment systems, you’re more likely to retain customers from month to month. With digital payments, it’s out of sight and out of mind, so the easier you make it for customers to stay on top of your payments, the longer they will stay with your service.
All the Big Names Are Optimizing
While giving into peer pressure for your personal life is never a great idea, when it comes to business management, the saying “if you can’t beat them, join them” can play a major role. When major competitors in your market are optimized for online banking, it’s definitely a sign that you need to be following in their footsteps and providing similar services. The truth is, most major players are now either optimized for online banking or providing their own online payment processing services, such as Apple pay. Chances are, you will be running into many customers who prefer to make their payments using these types of services, and you want to be able to guarantee you are able to cater to them in a way that is quick and easy.
What steps should you take?
In order to capitalize on this growing trend, there are a few services you need to be ready to provide, as well as trends you should be aware of. It’s important to recognize that new fintech businesses are forming all the time, and you need to be sure that your business is capable of accepting payments from these digital bank accounts, whether they’re big names or brand new startups. You also need to be able to guarantee that your services are as secure as possible. Consumers are going to be far more likely to make a purchase from a company that they feel is going to keep their data safe. Simple steps like making sure your website is an HTTPS domain or creating a page detailing your company’s security protocols can help provide peace of mind for your customers.
Finally, remember that as new trends form, you should always keep your communications with your customers as transparent and receptive as possible. Your customers will often provide great feedback on new services you can offer that will make your sales funnel easier to navigate, and therefore, guarantee both a more loyal customer base and more revenue down the line.
Guest Contributor
Chime Bank