While banking trends mostly followed projecting, the pandemic drove them at an accelerated rate that has created a huge global change – Digital banking is now just banking.
While taking stock of their 2020 performance and assessing the year ahead, banking executives almost agreed unanimously: digital banking usage levels will never return to pre-COVID.
These changes are giving opportunities and challenges for financial institutions at the same time. Banking executives must execute clear strategies that strengthen their digital presence and maintain a competitive edge after the reactionary stage has passed.

Banking Challenges Problem Solving
The pandemic created a set of challenges for the banking industry. From distributing PPP loans to maintaining in-branch safety, banks had to think on their feet. A lot of bankers expressed satisfaction with their ability to pivot. But there are persistent concerns.
97% expressed an irrevocable swing toward digital usage. This rapid advances in customer expectations significantly exceeds expert predictions. Despite this affirmation, respondents of the survey reported only an adequate transition to digital channels. Furthermore, institutions admit they fall short when it comes to leveraging customer data to inform strategic decisions, rating themselves a 2.8 out of 5 in that field.
John Adams: “Every problem is an opportunity in disguise.”
As security needs and customer expectations evolve, companies must keep reexamine the strategies and tools that will set them apart from the competition. Even if it emerges in a time of crisis, innovation creates superior long-term benefits and practices.

Banking Cybersecurity
According to 34% of respondents, cybersecurity beat six other topics as the top industry issue in 2021.
Challenge – Global losses from cybercrime were just under $1 trillion in 2020, it stands to reason that grow in digital banking users would lead to a grow in cybercrime. The pandemic led to an increased number of targets and opportunities for cybercriminals, whether by phishing, fraud, credential breaches or any other methods. Hacking techniques grow much more sophisticated every day, and even government agencies were not protected in 2020.
Strategy – Companies that want to stay ahead of cybersecurity challenges have to continue to deploy various methods to protect themselves and their customers safe. A cybersecurity framework such as the CIS Controls strengthens your overall credentials in the field of cybersecurity. In addition to the base cyber hygiene, a robust structure should include due diligence on third-party service providers’ cybersecurity and the appropriate safety mechanisms such as biometrics to protect your customers. As usual, the most significant cybersecurity threats come from within, so employees’ education and practice continue to be paramount importance.
 

Compliance Banking Customer Expectations
Meeting banking customer expectations has resulted in cybersecurity as the second greatest concern among banking executives in the survey.
Challenge – Nowadays, banking customers increasingly demand a seamless and understandable digital banking experience. Indeed, according to a recent Roughly 80% prefer to manage their finances through digital channels and use phones or PC to do it. But prioritising new digital banking technologies and striving to balance digital with the human element creates a quandary for smaller financial institutions.
Strategy – While appropriate technologies and smooth implementation are essential, effective digital transformation requires a strategic view of immediate customer demand. Your institutions can use customer data to identify cybersecurity problems like suspicious activity, but transactional data and a robust CRM tool enables you to make more reasoned decisions about products and services that customers need.
 

Possible Regulatory Change
Regulatory changes was the 3d largest concern for 2021, with 17% of bankers reporting it as their high priority.
Challenge – Regulatory agencies are keep trying to pace with technological advancements. Meanwhile, a new administration could mean looming regulatory changes. While data privacy and BSA/AML modernization are among the highest priorities, the American Bankers Association are also maintains a list of proposed rules and standards that could affect banks.
Strategy – Institutions must continue to foster a culture of compliance and utilize a robust basic to address any changes. The concerns that stem from a changing administration must be put into perspective. But overall, as institutions are ready to face with regulatory change, they must trying to maximize efficiency and use tools that help streamline and simplify risk management for them.
In addition, it’s also worthwhile to continue monitoring employee retention, mergers/takeovers and growing technologies like APIs and machine learning.
 

Top of Banking Technologies for 2021
Pandemic had learned us that financial institutions will need to balance new technologies with improvements/optimization to those that already exist. To grow market share, bankers will continue to reframe their strategies to examine new customer segments, product types and geographic markets, using digital instruments to achieve those objectives.
Very important that without informing any digital transformation strategy with customer data, areas including cybersecurity, customer attracting and retaining could all suffer. In the end, the established data must drive these strategies as they evolve.
Bankers identified the following technologies in 2021 to meet these challenges:

• Digitаl Account Opening
• Mobile Banking Apps
• Digitаl Lending
• Customer Relatiоnship Management (CRM)

Whether by strengthening communication tools or aiming to provide a smooth operation across platforms, digital transformation has only accelerated. That’s why we suggest using Collect&Pay high-level technology platform that provides our customers with the best quality range of services.