Dr. Joyce Dadzie Head, Customer Experience
The impact of COVID-19 has been felt in all facets of life. However, the impact of the pandemic on customer behaviour was immediate and widespread across all industries, countries and demographics.
Customers’ expectations and attention were immediately shifted to health and safety in accessing products and services.
As a result, what was previously considered to be a great customer experience is no longer good enough and almost all businesses have been thrust into reorganizing their approach to customers.
For banks, this meant a recalibration and fortification of their digital platforms to respond to the needs and demands of the times. The imposition of restrictions on movements and social distancing as measures to stem the spread of the pandemic meant banks and indeed all businesses had to evolve new and innovative ways of serving their customers across the world.
Stanbic Bank in responding to what has become the ‘new normal’ put a number of interventions in place to ensure that customers are able to have all their banking needs met while staying safe in the comforts of their homes or remotely.
The bank introduced its 41st branch, a virtual branch that allows customers of the bank do all their banking online without having to go to a physical branch. This 24-hour virtual branch also allows customers to manage their accounts, loans, investments and make payments including interbank payments.
“The need to serve our clients and customers in ways that they appreciate or find convenient has always been the inspiration behind our service innovations. The advent of COVID-19 meant we had to devise ways that make us serve our customers and clients while remaining safe at the same time.
We consequently had to revamp our digital and online platforms for this purpose and so far our investments in those technologies have paid off”, said Dr. Joyce Dadzie Head, Customer Experience.
To further make customers have very little or no need for physical branches, Stanbic Bank has enhanced services provided by their ATMs across the country. Presently, Stanbic ATMs do not only allow customers to access funds but also transfer money between different accounts.
Customers can also make cash deposits and make withdrawals with or without a card. Customers can now withdraw up to GHS 10,000 from any Stanbic ATM while at the same time allowing MTN and AirtelTigo mobile money customers to withdraw money from their wallets through a token generation-redemption process.
Another digital platform Stanbic Bank is using to respond to the banking needs of the times is the Stanbic Bank App. The app allows customers to update their personal details, view all accounts in one place, load and pay beneficiaries, make once-off payments, transfer funds, view statements, buy airtime, electricity and prepaid TV and more. The app also sends proof of payments by SMS or email to customers’ beneficiaries.
The app allows customers to view their transaction history, account balance and locate the nearest ATM or branch. With the app, customers have easy access to important numbers such as Lost Card and Customer Contact Centre. Customers can also view information on other products that enables them to manage their finances better.
For added security and where applicable, customers can use fingerprint or facial recognition to log into the app. COVID-19 has ushered in a new era in customer service and in the end, it is those brands that respond to the changing needs and demands of customers that will survive.
