case study
Self-service
banking
Boost customer experience and inclusion with
stronger self-service management
By Lisa Kellermeyer, Global Marketing Manager, NCR - www.ncr.com
Financial institutions have many goals,
which often differ between businesses
based on factors such as their size,
geographical location or spending power.
But there are some core objectives that
all firms in this industry share, and one
of them is to optimise the customer
experience.
With more and more transactions
moving away from the branch counter
and into the self-service channel, efficient
management of ATMs and self-service
devices looks set to become increasingly
influential in driving customer experience.
This could prove particularly crucial as
institutions seek out ways to address
financial exclusion and improve their
service delivery in emerging markets.
Driving customer experience
Any business with aspirations to deliver
the best possible experience across its
self-service network needs to have an
in-depth, real-time view of the many
consumer touchpoints comprising that
network. One of the most effective
ways of achieving this is by adopting a
dedicated ATM management system.
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE)
committed to this strategy with its recent
addition of 200 NCR SelfServ ATMs and
APTRA Vision. This technology gives CBE
valuable intelligence in real time about its
ATM fleet, providing data such as current
performance against key metrics, specific
ATM fault data and trending. The bank will
therefore be able to take any necessary
actions in a timely manner, ensuring
ongoing availability and a consistent
experience for customers.
Addis Tilaye, e-payment process
director at CBE said, “This is a big step
forward that will help the business to
achieve operational excellence, reduce
cost and improve customer experience.”
He added: “We are confident this
partnership will serve to strengthen our
relationship [with NCR] further and help
us not only expand our reach, but allow
us to introduce world-class technologies
to better serve our customers.”
Dimitri Kanellopoulos, channel leader
for Africa at NCR, pointed out that APTRA
Vision has the capability to combine
and analyse granular details on every
consumer transaction across all self-
service devices. This sort of extensive
visibility and understanding is only set to
become more important and valuable
as a growing number of transactions
relocate from the branch counter to the
self-service channel.
The role of self-service
As the drive to improve financial inclusion
continues across the globe, the self-
service channel could have an extremely
important role to play. One of the key
reasons for this is that consumers still rely
on cash and physical banking channels,
and for many financial institutions, self-
service expansion is a much more feasible
and financially justifiable option than
enlarging their branch network.
In the Asia Pacific region, nearly six
out of ten consumers (57%) prefer cash
to digital payment options for completing
day-to-day transactions, according to
PayPal research reported by CNBC.
With demand for cash still going
strong, off-site ATMs have been
experiencing more demand as providers
look for ways to deliver the services
consumers want and bring previously
excluded groups into the financial
system. Retail Banking Research made
this point in a study published in January
2017, which showed that over half of all
ATMs are now installed away from bank
branches.
Research leader Rowan Berridge
said: “As independent ATM deployers
expand their fleets, more and more retail
centres, transport hubs and other non-
branch locations will host ATMs. Coupled
with increasing off-site deployment by
banks, in future, it will be even easier for
customers to find a convenient ATM away
from branches.”
Businesses that choose to adopt this
strategy will need to place an even greater
emphasis on self-service management,
to ensure they have maximum
understanding and control of machines
that are operating in isolation. n
KIOSK solutions 21