Customer Service is the neglected child of banks in the Philippines 

The key to the future is digital – and virtually no banking institution in the world is unaware of the shifting landscape around them. With both private and public entities strongly supporting digital adoption to transform legacy banking processes and protocols, banks are incentivized in delivering more digital products and services to the masses.  

It is perhaps an accepted truth, at this point in time, that banks who fail to leverage on digital technology are lagging behind their competition. This is why these institutions, especially in the Philippines, just can’t wait to tell their customers what new feature or capability they have – because it translates to customer trust and confidence.  

Another way banks can secure the trust and confidence of customers is through stability, stemming from decades of experience in this industry, which is something that digital banks must compete with by going above and beyond for their customers. 

Although digital banks are playing catch-up when it comes to building their customer base and product portfolios, traditional banks are now being pressured to match a particular aspect of their business where digital banks shine – customer service.  

There are several studies already backing this claim. J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Direct Banking Satisfaction Study revealed that 83% of individuals surveyed found reaching customer service of digital banks convenient – a direct result of these entities putting customer service at the forefront of their business.  

In a published Portuguese study, the role of traditional banking in the digital age was explored. Based on data collected, the millennial generation are seeing more customer value being provided by digital banks versus traditional banks.  

A quick glance in the social media pages of several banks with presence in the Philippines exposes a pattern of customer complaints that essentially boil down to slow response and resolution by these banks. While this can be understandable to some, since it is common knowledge that these institutions handle large amounts of data and address a multitude of service request and concerns, this still makes no sense from a technological perspective.  

The reason why this makes no sense is because banks are setting the wrong expectations or not clearly communicating what their “new features and updates” mean from the consumer perspective. Most top-level executives are fond of highlighting how their latest upgrades are designed around addressing a customer pain point, but in reality, these new capabilities are solving the pain points on their end.  

Enhanced data management, contactless payments, biometric authentication, clean investments, and now blockchain – these are just a few innovations that traditional banks love to throw around but doesn’t really help consumers in the face of disparate systems and varied access that cause the unending “We’ll follow-up again”, “We’ll escalate again”, “Please wait xxx business days again”, “Our system is down.” 

In an age when “leveraging on technology” has been mentioned by banks for years now, these responses place a significant doubt on whether banks are really benefitting from new technology and innovations.  

Is the answer cutting more of the human intervention and giving way to more involvement of technology in banking processes so they can focus human resource on improving customer service? Or is there still a significant gap that banks need to address using technology?