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Why does secure messaging benefit banks?

6 MIN READ

Do your customers trust you?

Trust is central to any healthy relationship but it has fallen steadily among banking customers for years now. According to reports, the main area that customers worry about is a bank’s security features and the safety of their data. In fact, studies show that between 14% and 18% of all customers mention it as their top consideration.

This is likely due to high-profile security breaches over the past few years which have harmed the perception of banks. But privacy concerns are not the only issue at play. Beyond online privacy, a Forrester report found that customers want to feel that their banks understand their needs, and fewer than half of customers in Australia, Germany, Spain, and Sweden believe that they do.

Banks are faced with a substantial challenge to overcome this reality and build trust. That said, those that manage it are in line to reap the benefits. A reported 92% of customers who feel valued will stay with a particular brand and 87% plan to purchase more.

Mobile messaging app benefits in banking

While the issue of trust has no single solution, there are a number of key strategic tools that offer agents the groundwork to regain it. For example, while data security and a feeling of understanding rank highly among customer concerns, this cannot come at the expense of convenience. To put it simply, customers want to deal with their bank when it suits them.

Convenient interactions

Instead of making a phone call or going to their local branch, they want banks to be responsive and interactions to be informal and easy – like sending a text message or voice message from their mobile device. Secure Messaging allows them to do just that. Whether they want help with a transaction or advice on investing, Secure Messaging allows customers to ask banking agents questions easily and on the move, conducting a flexible conversation according to their schedule.

Extra layer of security

But unlike popular text messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, the Unblu Secure Messaging app has additional features to meet the security needs of a bank-customer relationship. It is compliant with data safety and recording requirements for the banking and financial industry, guaranteeing the highest level of protection for both the customers and the organization. Private messaging apps allow customers to maintain control over communications with banking agents and advisors. All of the information is recorded, documented, encrypted, and stored on the premises or in the cloud so it can be retrieved by financial regulators.

A secure messaging service makes interactions between the banking agent and customer simpler because it can fit around the customers’ schedule, allowing agents and customers to communicate asynchronously with heightened security features. Agents can also build a trusting relationship by giving personal and relevant answers to specific questions. This improves productivity and grows contacts that later become business opportunities.

How do Secure Messaging apps work?

Secure mobile messaging apps are useful tools both in retail banking – banking activities such as mortgages and account services – but also private banking for the financial assets of High Net Worth Individuals.

For retail banking service providers, a customer might be shopping for a mortgage and need more information. They can then log on to the e-banking portal and begin a text conversation with a banking agent. This conversation might continue for a month or so and involve voice and video calls and Co-Browsing at various stages as well.

Secure Messaging in private banking

In a private banking example, the messaging protocol means that a customer might start a conversation using a mobile banking app on his phone. The banking advisor will then receive a notification and can reply. When the conversation moves to the desktop, the customer and advisor can then use Co-Browsing or video calls to interact or even collaborate on documents together. The transaction can then be finalized on this platform.

Integrates with other features

A secure chat app like Secure Messenger is integrated with other features such as Co-Browsing, further enhancing the customer-agent interaction. Co-Browsing provides a visual context, allowing agent and customer to share a browser and see what the other is doing, collaborating on documents and pointing to and highlighting certain things. This makes the interaction more efficient and productive.

Similarly, Secure Messenger is integrated with features like video calls, taking the customer-agent conversation to another level. Video chat with audio calls allows the customer and advisor to see each other, therefore providing all the reassurance of a real-life face-to-face interaction. Customers and advisors can move seamlessly between different features, like Secure Messenger and Video Chat thanks to this integration, and this improves the potential and quality of customer service.

Benefits of Secure Messaging apps for agents

Changing customer expectations regarding forms of communication have placed extra pressure on agents to serve them through chat messages. However, unless the agents gain access to the right digital tools with robust security features for confidential chats, they are powerless to help.

Not only are agents expected to offer hybrid experiences as the norm, but there’s a stronger emphasis on offering proactive support. Secure communication empowers agents to address many of these issues – both from a security standpoint and beyond.

Firstly, this type of messaging is asynchronous by nature, taking the pressure off the agent to send never-ending instant messages and instead better manage their time. Likewise, for more personalized support scenarios based on personal info, they can initiate conversations in a natural and intuitive way that benefits the customer.

The Conversational Engagement Platform

When considered as part of the overall Conversational Engagement Platform, Secure Messaging allows agents to offer a tailored, omnichannel private chat experience that ensures user privacy. 

Conversational engagement offers an end-to-end experience for customers, leveraging multiple communication tools to ensure expectations are met at every point of the journey. With robust security features and encryption by default, agents can make use of artificial intelligence, voice calls, video calls, direct messages like Live Chat, Co-Browsing, and more to match individual needs while ensuring user privacy. 

By embracing conversational engagement – with Secure Messenger acting as a key tool – agents are better able to ensure a gold standard experience and build long-term trust. The ability to offer a secure messaging platform that emulates popular messaging apps, while also enhancing the experience, allows agents to leverage key moments and boost conversions.

Secure Messaging and Unblu

A Secure Messaging app that allows clients and advisors to send private messages is the natural next step for modern-day banking conversations. With Unblu, banks can gain access to a secure instant messaging solution that integrates seamlessly with other features, meets all security demands, and boosts trust over time.

Making private conversations an industry standard is key for financial services institutions to provide that extra layer of security that means all message contents are safe and online privacy is maintained. For clients, robust secure communication is a stand-out privacy feature that boosts trust and allows them to carry out file sharing or similar activities with full peace of mind.

Make the move to a fully customer-centric banking experience with a private messaging app with strong encryption protocols for enhanced online security.

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