Not so long ago, most of us had a personal, physical, relationship with a local bank. It was a time when we’d write paper checks, fill out deposit and withdrawal slips, and perform most transactions in a face-to-face manner at the teller counter. People would often simply stay with the same financial services provider for their whole lives because there was trust — and trust was enough. Reputation and service were key differentiators for financial institutions, and understandably so.
Times have changed, and the human component is largely removed from day-to-day banking activities. Online banking, as convenient as it may be, has benefited most end users but at the same time created challenges for the banks. These days, the cost and convenience of banking are the main factors influencing where people put their money. And while trust, reliability, and service once determined where people banked, these are now secondary considerations. Cost and convenience come first.
In order to be successful, many financial services providers have taken measures to meet the current demands of their clientele. Since borders have faded and services can be offered by global providers, national banks are under pressure to match and even exceed the service levels of the larger institutions.
One of our customers, a major bank in Spain, is a perfect example. Their 22,000 employees are dedicated to going the extra mile so their customers don’t have to. Literally. As an account holder, you need not visit your local branch bank. Instead, a representative of the bank comes to your house and sits down with you to help you with your financial matters. Talk about service!
This way of mobile banking is carefully managed by the LRS mobile printing solution as part of LRS output management. Because while mobile concepts offer flexibility, they involve a risk of data exposure as well. It is vital to implement a highly secure, centrally monitored platform that allows employees to securely access and print confidential data whilst connected to the unsecured public internet. That includes securely printing account balances, investment statements, and other financial documents. At the same time, these remote employees are no longer tied to a certain branch, so they need to be able to resume work at any bank location. Each time they enter a new branch, they should be set up to work the same way they would if they were to walk into their usual location.
LRS helps financial institutions with many output management solutions that support their transition to a new way of working. These customers require an agile IT infrastructure to anticipate fast changing circumstances. For instance, this same bank took the opportunity when migrating to Windows 10 to centralize control over printing. In doing so, they were able to increase the availability and reliability of printing. Not only did that prevent printing delays that had affected employees and customers, it also resulted in dramatic cost savings. A lower operating cost means lower rates for the customers, which is a win-win for everybody! Combined with mobile print support, they have established a single service layer that monitors and tracks all output from any source to any destination.
Accepting the status quo and hanging onto old habits is no longer acceptable within the financial services segment. Customers have countless choices when it comes to managing their money. And as this leading financial group in Spain has shown, the transformation to agile IT with a mobile print solution can make a difference; one that ensures happy and loyal customers for many years to come. If you are a financial institution looking to optimize your IT infrastructure, come talk to our experts. Our highly knowledgeable team will be happy to help!