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Maximise efficiency with modern self-service customer experiences in financial services

Jennifer Lauchlan
Jennifer LauchlanIndustry Lead - ANZ Financial Services
Summary5 min read

Financial services firms are under pressure to digitally transform. Using web forms is a quick and easy way to meet their expectations.

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The digital natives are getting older. They’re taking on mortgages, raising families, and thinking about insurances and investing — and with all these ‘adulting’ jobs, they expect the same ease, speed and convenience they’ve always experienced in other parts of their lives. 

In the face of these expectations, financial services and insurance (FSI) companies need to pick up their games. They need to overhaul their service models to deliver on digital natives’ demands for more self-service, more on-the-go, and more mobile options for getting financial tasks ticked off. All with more personalised, high-touch support along the way.

According to a recent Salesforce study, 78% of banking customers initiate relationships on a website or app. And customers are taking a closer look at where they bank, with over 60% of customers1 abandoning an account opening application that takes more than five minutes. In the digital native cohort, over 70% will switch to banks2 with better digital offerings. 

The world has well and truly become digital-first, and FSIs that don’t keep up will get left behind. 

And the best bit? The perks of digitising FSI service delivery extend beyond delighting customers. It also leads to operational efficiencies, cost savings, and the redirection of employee time and effort towards higher-value, more strategic priorities. 

Modernising self-service in financial services

Question is, how do you meet customers’ demands for a better experience while ticking off on rigorous compliance regulations? How do you solve for inefficiencies, poor UI, lack of integration and lengthy processes? Start with your agreements. After all, they are at the centre of moments that matter — from loan refinancing to beneficiary updates, to recurring funds transfers or updates to opening new accounts. Making these moments digital will reduce friction and deliver a convenient, personalised experience that enables customers to self-service at any time, in the channel that best suits them. 

Problem is, many FSIs still rely on static PDFs for tasks like those listed above. These forms might be available online — but customers still have to download, fill, print, scan, upload and email the form back. It’s frustrating, time-consuming, and often not much easier than queuing up at a local branch. 

Other forms may be completed directly on the website, but the user interface (UI) is often clunky and far from mobile-friendly (hello, pinching or zooming). 

At best, forms libraries today provide an inconsistent experience to consumers, who must navigate digitised forms for certain requests and static PDFs for others. At worst, a poor experience can cause consumers to abandon the process entirely, harming both reputation and cross-sell potential. Fortunately, FSIs can uplevel their self-service options by ditching the status quo.

Uplevel self-service with dynamic agreements

The time has come for FSIs to replace static forms libraries with dynamic agreements. With Docusign Web Forms, companies can transform the traditional online forms library into a more user-friendly experience to meet the demands of today’s financial consumers.

Modern and interactive, Web Forms are a big step above static PDFs. Thanks to a mobile responsive interface and conditional logic that only presents users with additional fields as needed, it’s a lot quicker and easier for customers to complete and submit a form. 

Behind the scenes, Web Forms make life easier for admins, too. They are quick and easy to create, modify and maintain, with a simple drag-and-drop functionality that lets users build and customise the forms with clicks instead of code. And with advanced workflow capabilities, FSIs can auto-route completed forms to the correct teams to handle the next steps in the process.

Importantly, Web Forms leverage the same trusted security functionality as the core Docusign eSignature platform. And, for added security, FSIs can integrate identity verification into the process for higher-risk self-service requests, such as funds transfer and beneficiary change requests. 

With Docusign, FSIs are reaping the results

Australian banks are reaping the rewards of digitising agreement processes. One Docusign customer, Jake Bromwich, Managing Director, RAMS, said, “Our customers don’t have to be at home or work. [With Docusign] they can accept the documents electronically, wherever they are, whatever time of the day or night suits them.”

And across the board, Docusign FSI customers report 71% faster turnaround times, 62% less errors and omissions, and 71% improved customer satisfaction. It all adds up to a better customer experience, which ultimately helps win the hearts, minds and wallets of today’s discerning digital natives. 

To learn more about Web Forms, get in touch with our sales team today.

https://thefinancialbrand.com/news/loan-growth/digital-banking-account-opening-sales-growth-112423/

https://www.bai.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/executive-report-addressing-bankings-key-business-challenges-in-2023.pdf

Jennifer Lauchlan
Jennifer LauchlanIndustry Lead - ANZ Financial Services

Jenn Lauchlan leads Docusign's ANZ Financial Services program and brings over 25 years experience working in and with financial service organisations.

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