Virtual branches and virtual banking are a key strategy for financial institutions looking to improve customer service, expand their reach, and stay connected to their customer base. By offering customers the ability to schedule virtual appointments, banks and credit unions can provide a convenient and efficient way for customers to access their accounts and conduct business remotely.
Read on to learn more
In the age of virtual meetings and appointments, banks and credit unions are implementing virtual branch strategies to increase digital engagement and improve customer experiences. Virtual banking is a valuable tool for financial institutions looking to increase digital engagement and improve customer service. With the rise of COVID-19, virtual meetings and interactions have become the norm, and it is expected that consumer demand for financial institutions to increase their virtual offerings will only grow stronger.
Virtual banking provides the ability to offer personal touch and expert service through digital interactions. While convenient, digital channels like phone, chatbots, and online banking lack the human element that customers still seek when it comes to certain banking questions and transactions. Virtual branches allow financial institutions to provide a more traditional branch banking experience in a virtual format, where they can deliver advice, conversations, and the human element.
Virtual banking also offers flexibility of when and how customers can meet with bank representatives. Customers can schedule appointments at a time that is convenient for them and can even bring multiple family members into a financial conversation from different locations. In addition, virtual appointments allow financial institutions to bring in the right kind of staff expertise to handle customer needs, regardless of their physical location.
Virtual banking also allows financial institutions to expand beyond their traditional geographic boundaries, allowing them to serve customers who have moved outside of their normal region, as well as expand into new geographic territories without the need for a physical location.
In Their Owns Words: Serving Customers However and Wherever
While they all describe it slightly differently, the end goal is the same. Financial institutions need to serve their customers however and wherever they are:
“We must provide a journey for those members that just want to be able to take care of things online. Having the support and the flexibility to schedule a video appointment, the ability to chat with someone, and to get things done that sometimes require an in-person visit.”
– $750M credit union
“We want to offer members the accessibility to connect with us, whether that’s through their mobile device, their computer – any digital access – so that they don’t have to come into a branch to get assistance with anything that is not a transaction.”
– $1.3B credit union
“Many of our members are moving out of state, out of our target geographical area, and we want to continue supporting them in different aspects as related to their banking needs.”
– $425M credit union.
Increase digital engagement with meaningful conversations
In the digital age, it is becoming increasingly hard to have meaningful conversations and engage banking customers. Virtual banking provides a natural bridge for the digital-first segment of customers that want human assistance and service you get from in-person, but with the convenience of a digital world.
With Engageware’s virtual appointment scheduling, banking consumers can easily schedule a virtual appointment for the most valuable interactions:
- Learn how to become a member or customer with personalized help from staff that is trained to properly onboard new customers
- Get consultative assistance from product experts for the most challenging banking needs such as loan options, HSA, IRAs, and insurance services
- Provide personalized assistance for banking’s most common needs such as notary services, online and mobile banking needs, and account updates
Use Engageware’s Appointment Scheduling to Power Your Virtual Branch
Leverage the most robust appointment scheduling solutions powering hundreds of banks and credit unions to power your virtual branch. Interested in learning more? Book a meeting with one of our scheduling experts >
Engageware Appointment Scheduling solutions help you create higher-value interactions that connect customers with the right person in your organization at the right time. Learn more >