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Consider how we tend to characterize common tasks. We grab our phones. We read the news. We scan social media. We don’t say “digital phone,” “digital news,” or “digital social media.” So why do we refer to digital banking with the term “digital,” when really, it’s just banking?
We live in the digital era. But the changing of our habits and processes has already happened, leading many theorists to predict we may be in the twilight of that era. Don’t worry – digital technology is not going anywhere. We no longer say we are living in the industrial age, but we still use plenty of industrial processes. The same will become true of digital. It has taken decades to arrive where we are today in terms of technology. With this maturity comes a plateau, where the rapidity of advancement slows, leading to the next era, one brimming with innovation and advances in artificial intelligence. Before we land in that next age however, let’s focus on where we are today.
The fintech sector brought banking into the digital age. We don’t say “physical banking” or “in-branch banking” when we refer to conducting transactions at our local credit unions. But we do still say “digital banking.” For consumers, the products, services, and user experience accessed via in-branch or digital banking simply boils down to banking. Are we being pedantic in our insistence that there is a difference between “digital banking” and “brick-and-mortar banking?” It’s all banking. And, as figures are already showing, successful financial institutions (FIs) can’t opt to be in one space or the other; credit unions must have both a physical and virtual presence to be where their members expect them to be.
What Is Digital Banking?
“Digital banking” is an umbrella term for the processes, services, and transactions credit union members conduct online. This may be via online banking, accessed on a computer or tablet, or via mobile banking, which likely has an app for easy connectivity and usage. It also could encompass newer technologies, such as Interactive Teller Machines (ITMs) and voice banking.
“Digital banking has evolved far beyond its beginnings as a website accessed from a desktop computer,” commented Ben Jordan, Senior Vice President of Information Technology for Synergent. “Consumers have reached a point where they trust and are comfortable with using digital channels to manage nearly every aspect of their daily lives. While security has to be a top priority, members expect to be able to do on their smartphones nearly everything they can do in their credit union’s branches.”
Learn More
Download the full white paper, which covers:
- Facts and Stats
- The Disruption of Digital Banking
- The Tech Behind Digital Banking
- How to Achieve Digital Banking Success
