Digitization is unstoppable, as demonstrated by the usage statistics of remote channels. Therefore, banks must provide customers with more comfortable, simple and accessible channels so that they can interact with their entity when and how it best suits them. Currently, banks already make a multitude of channels available to you to adapt to your needs when and how you prefer: ATMs, branches, application, web and telephone.
Without a doubt, one of the most relevant channels today is mobile banking. In the case of a bank like BBVA, practically 100% of transactional banking operations for individuals can be carried out through the mobile application. Therefore, it is not surprising that 71.2% of Catalans who have an account at the bank already operate through digital channels.
Without going any further, the BBVA app in Spain has been recognized on several occasions as the best in the world. Behind the BBVA app there is an entire human team that works to offer the best mobile banking service possible. For example, it was the first in Spain that allowed payments to be initiated from other bank accounts. In 2020, BBVA also launched Blue, a virtual assistant to offer support for any operation carried out from the entity’s app.
However, banking is a people business, where personal treatment is key. In this sense, consumers demand more personal and human banking: a bank that allows them to carry out digital transactions, but also accompanies them in a close and personalized way when making decisions related to the management of their money. In this sense, attention in physical offices continues to be essential for more complex operations, such as mortgages or investments, which require expert advice.
In Spain, financial institutions provide their services through a network of 17,863 offices. In addition, the Spanish banking sector has 43,614 ATMs, according to data from the Bank of Spain. Of them, 4,732 are part of the BBVA network, which allow a large number of banking operations to be carried out, such as deposits and withdrawals of cash, payment of bills and transfers.
Efforts to offer a personal service beyond the offices are also relevant, such as good telephone service (agile, effective and professional) with remote managers. In the case of BBVA, 95% of the calls received from customers who have the remote management service are resolved by telephone.
Banks are implementing advanced security measures, such as biometric authentication and real-time monitoring, to ensure data protection and customer trust. This way, customers know that financial institutions protect the data that is transferred in each transaction made with a credit card or when carrying out an operation.
Banks are adopting a continuous improvement mindset by actively seeking dialogue with their customers. Surveys, feedback, and other methods are used to identify areas of opportunity and make adjustments to the customer experience strategy.
This is understood by entities such as BBVA, which has established design processes in which, throughout all development phases, products are tested and validated with end users, which makes the consumer’s observations and opinions become palpable final solutions.
Consumer opinion is fundamental for the entity and drives it to be better. For example, according to the latest banking customer satisfaction survey carried out by the OCU, BBVA would be the best-rated large financial institution in Spain, ahead of Santander, Sabadell, CaixaBank and Bankinter.
