To achieve the dual goals of satisfying tech-savvy customers and boosting the bottom line, banks must first lay the foundation for integrated channels and fulfillment processes. Here is how they can embark on this two-laned path.

1. •
Cognizant Reports
U.S. Retail Banking: Prescriptions for
Channel Integration and Beyond
To achieve the dual goals of satisfying tech-savvy customers and
boosting the bottom line, banks must first lay the foundation for
integrated channels and fulfillment processes. Here is how they
can embark on this two-laned path.
cognizant reports | December 2013

2. Executive Summary
In the age of consumer-centric banking, the
absence of integrated channels and fulfillment
processes can adversely impact banks. Consider
the following scenarios.
Emma, a longtime customer of a leading regional
bank, comes across a new product advertisement
online and attempts to talk to a call center representative to obtain more details. She finds that
the representative is unaware of the advertisement and ill-equipped to meaningfully answer her
questions. She drives to the branch the next day
and interacts with a branch manager who helps
her understand the offer and terms of the loan
advertised. However, the branch informs her that
back-office documentation could take one to two
weeks before the deal can be closed. Emma gives
up and begins to look elsewhere.
Sarah, a customer of another large bank, stumbles upon a similar online campaign. While she is
in the midst of exploring the online campaign, a
bank representative appears online and invites
her to a video chat. Over the chat, the rep clarifies
her doubts, offers a discount because of her ongoing relationship with the bank and guides her to a
one-click option. The system presents Sarah with
an application form pre-filled with Sarah’s data
and asks her to answer a minimum number of
questions. The application then notifies the backoffice systems, which trigger documentation protocols and run automated risk assessment processes. The deal closes within a few hours.
These contrasting scenarios highlight the opportunity that channel integration and fulfillment
can introduce to banks. By instilling a customercentric culture across the institution, and applying existing insights about customer behavior and
preferences, banks can drive more streamlined
and efficient operations.
An era of digital transformation is rising across
the banking industry, with customers leading the
change. For many banks, responding is easier said
than done. They are caught in a tangle of traditional business models, structures, practices and
systems that conspire to prevent true multichannel strategies from taking hold.
As the bulk of routine transactions moves to
digital channels — including mobile — the number
of transactions on all digital channels is rising
significantly. In fact, most consumers use multiple
cognizant reports
channels to fulfill nearly all their banking needs.
Research shows that customers prefer digital
channels for routine transactions but opt for hightouch personal interactions for complex financial
decision-making. While there are generational
differences in channel preferences, the consumer
universe unequivocally demands superior service,
lower fees and charges and, most importantly,
security of their sensitive information.
The biggest impediments to creating a seamless
multichannel experience that meets customer
expectations and drives business objectives
include the following:
• Traditional
•
•
•
•
business models dating back to
the branch-dominant era, and the operations,
goals, metrics and processes built around
them.
The burden of legacy systems, with their inherent integration and migration challenges, inhibiting movement to the SMAC StackTM (social,
mobile, analytics and cloud technologies).
Ubiquitous security concerns, such as vulnerability to fraud caused by proliferating use of
multiple channels.
The need for additional new channels to meet
customer demand, even while the issues associated with integrating traditional channels
have not yet been addressed.
Inability to recoup the added cost of addressing all these issues by monetizing the added
convenience that multiple channels provide to
customers.
Banks can counter these multichannel transformational challenges with carefully calibrated
moves. To stay ahead, we recommend that banks
consider the following steps:
•
Involve top leadership in adopting the
change to a customer-centric culture.
Develop a multichannel strategy, and redefine
structures, operations, goals and metrics to
ensure execution. (See sidebar, page 5.)
• Make appropriate choices to ensure successful channel integration and employ advanced
analytics to make meaning from data distilled
from customer behavior. (See “Prescriptions
for Successful Multichannel Integration” section, page 6.)
• Use the foundation of channel integration
and analytics to inform and then elevate
customer experience; apply these learnings
to also drive operational efficiency to new
2

3. heights. (See “Prescriptions for Enhancing
Customer Experience” section, page 7.)
• Find and adjust revenue enhancement and
cost reduction levers to drive profitability (See
“Prescriptions to Drive Profitability” section,
page 7.)
Consumers are also becoming increasingly reliant on multiple channels. According to Tiffani
Montez, a principal analyst at Forrester Research,
Inc., multichannel customers currently account
for 88% of today’s customer base, and that is
expected to grow as more people move to mobileand tablet-based banking.4
Rise of Digital Channels
U.S. consumers have been quick to adopt digital
banking channels to fulfill their routine transactions. Branch use is gradually declining, accompanied by marked growth in mobile and online
channels (see Figure 1).
According to a recent survey by Cisco Systems,
Inc., a majority of customers prefer the branch to
address activities that require personal attention
and advice (83% of survey respondents). Moreover, 26% of respondents said they would leave
their bank if it removed advisory services from
the branch. Another interesting finding is the willingness of customers to accept virtual delivery
of advice in the branch in lieu of the traditional
person-to-person model, provided it is offered in a
way that doesn’t undermine personalization.1
The convenience of digital channels appeals to
wealthy consumers as well, a segment that was
traditionally considered a high-touch category
that preferred intensive face-to-face contact.2
The mass affluent consumer group wants the
convenience of both virtual and physical worlds
to meet its needs. Increasingly, it seems that the
preferential treatment and high level of care that
this category expects can be met without physical
interaction.3
Amid this shift to digital channels, the behavioral
patterns of the millennial consumer segment are
of particular significance to banks. This demographic is the most tech-savvy segment, and it
expects banks to be equally tech-savvy, too. These
consumers are 15% more likely to be influenced
by bank Web sites and online communities and
29% more likely to test new tech tools.5 This represents an untapped customer base for banks.6
Despite their penchant for technology-aided services, millennial customers are also keen to visit
branches, with an average of 2.5 branch visits per
month.7 This apparent contradiction can be attributed to their need for guidance on establishing
a financial foothold.8
Even as they embrace digital channels and exhibit
generational differences in their channel preferences, all consumer segments seem to agree
on three critical needs: customer service, lower
rates and fees, and superior protection against
identity fraud9 (see sidebar and “Prescriptions for
Enhancing Customer Experience,” pages 5 and 7).
According to research from Fifth Third Bank,10
mobile-wielding consumers are most likely to be
multichannel users.11 As this tribe grows, banks will
Digital Rises, Face-to-Face Declines
Consumers are increasingly choosing digital delivery channels.
(Transaction volumes,
in millions)
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
2011
Online
2012
Branch
2013
(projected)
Mobile
2014
(estimated)
Contact Center
Source: “Rethinking Multichannel Strategy,” April 2013, CEB TowerGroup Retail Banking.
Figure 1
cognizant reports
3
2015
(estimated)

4. Bank channel
integration
initiatives must
also factor in
consumers’
accelerating use of
mobile devices and
social media.
be compelled to enable multichannel access through
successful channel integration efforts. Bank channel
integration initiatives must
also factor in consumers’
accelerating use of mobile
devices and social media.
While the always-on, anywhere-anytime availability
of mobile devices offers
exciting opportunities, mobility also exposes the
need for enhanced security to safeguard consumer information.
Similarly, banks must respond to the growing
use of social media and its influence on consumers’ banking decisions by integrating channels to
enable more effective and consistent communication. Channel integration ensures availability
of customer information from all sources. Armed
with these insights, banks will be better equipped
to resolve issues before they escalate. Banks can
also convey a more technologically advanced
brand image – a critical factor in gaining the confidence of all demographic segments. Banks also
need to be aware of emerging regulations surrounding their use of social media. Guidelines
from The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) highlight the legal, privacy,
reputational and operational risks involved in
banks’ use of social media.12
Challenging Operating Environment
In addition to helping banks adapt to changing
consumer behavior, channel integration fulfills a
necessary precondition for using various levers
that can increase revenues, reduce costs and
boost the bottom line. Regulations have constrained fee-based income generation avenues
and are compelling banks to rethink their business models.13 The impact is being felt on profitability — the industry’s return on equity (RoE)
stood at roughly 10% in 2012 compared with 15%
earned during 1993-2007 (see Figure 2).
Against this backdrop, measures such as channel and fulfillment integration promise greater
customer satisfaction and loyalty, as well as
increased efficiency and opportunities to boost
profitability.
Channel Integration
In addition to
Remains Elusive for Many
Even as consumers rely helping banks
more on technology and use
adapt to changing
multiple channels, channel
integration still eludes many consumer behavior,
banks. Forrester notes that channel integration
“cross-channel
measurefulfills a necessary
ment is a distant reality, and
channel silos continue to be precondition for
the multichannel albatross” using various levers
and attributes this to decenthat can increase
tralized decision-making.14
The lack of an enterprise revenues, reduce
strategy prevents banks costs and boost
from delivering a seamless,
the bottom line.
integrated channel experience to customers. Independent silos require
banks to develop the same products and services
separately for each channel or unique device,
Profitability Dip at U.S. Banks
20%
RoE %
15%
10%
5%
0%
-5%
-10%
Jan. 1,
1984
May 1, Sept. 1, Jan. 1,
1986
1988
1991
May 1, Sept. 1, Jan. 1,
1993
1995
1998
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Figure 2
cognizant reports
4
May 1, Sept. 1, Jan. 1,
2000 2002 2005
May 1, Sept. 1, Jan. 1,
2007 2009 2012

5. Quick Take
Prescriptions to Overcome the Challenges
Banks’ channel integration endeavors must be accompanied by efforts to overcome the three key challenges of strategy, legacy systems and security. Such efforts are critical to removing the roadblocks to
multichannel transformation.
Rethink the Strategy
On the business model and strategy fronts, banks’ digital transformation efforts are impeded by the
lack of an enterprise strategy to meet the technological and process demands of the multichannel era.
A Forrester survey15 found that fewer than one-third of respondents had crafted a multichannel strategy
that was well-coordinated across business lines, as well as a dedicated team.
Multichannel integration needs to go beyond providing a seamless customer experience. Each
investment in multichannel integration must address one or more of the following objectives: improve
customer loyalty, increase revenue and reduce costs.
Managing change can be a daunting task, given that entering the multichannel era involves reorienting banks’ organizational structures, performance metrics, processes and systems. Multichannel
success requires a channel-agnostic and customer-centric approach. Given the scale of change, channel
integration efforts should:
• Involve top leadership and embrace a customer-centric culture that permeates from the top and
extends throughout the organization.
Encourage changes to the organizational structure that collectively foster a
customer-centric culture focused on dismantling channel siloes. We believe an
effective way to do this is to organize channels as a shared service used by all
business lines, led by a channel czar.
• Identify areas where channel conflicts exist and replace them with an
operating model that rewards customer-focused behavior that is in line with
multichannel goals.
• Establish enterprise multichannel goals, operating models and metrics to
ensure an effective transition. Banks should avoid the traps associated with
the legacy of earlier branch-centric models. They can leverage cross-channel
customer data to measure customer contributions to profit against the cost of
service. Doing so also enables them to appropriately price products and services
based on insights derived from each customer’s unique data.16
•
We believe an
effective way
to do this is
to organize
channels as
a shared service
used by all business
lines, led by
a channel czar.
Address Legacy Systems Issues
On the technology front, legacy systems appear to be obstructing most banks’ multichannel initiatives.
It can become too costly to replace legacy systems such as core banking solutions because of the capital
investment required, as well as fear of conversion risk and customer impact. These systems address
various components, such as lines of business, geographies and front-, middle- and back-offices. Banks
can use middleware to connect core systems with multiple channels to deliver services consistently
across all touchpoints.
Confront Security Challenges
On the security front, the proliferation of channels has begun to impact banks in at least two ways.
First, it has increased the vulnerability of individual channels to fraud. Second, consumers are subjected to multiple identification and authentication routines, requiring them to use different passwords
and PINs. Banks can address these issues by adopting a channel-agnostic, multifactor authentication
process that employs biometrics, in addition to other security measures.17 They can employ any two of
the three factors from the FFIEC recommendations:18
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5

6. 1. Something the user knows (e.g., password, PIN).
2. Something the user has (e.g., ATM card, phone).
3. Something the user is (e.g., biometric, fingerprint).
While consumers are rapidly adopting mobile banking, they remain wary of its security implications.
A survey19 we conducted with Monitise found that 70% of respondents considered security a major
concern; 68% prefer biometric features, and 35% are inclined to pay for such protection. (For more
detail, read our white paper, “Segment-Based Strategies for Mobile Banking.”) Banks embarking on
a channel integration initiative should consider tightening their security measures to reinforce the
safeguards offered by a unified cross-channel banking experience.
thereby hurting efficiency, time-to-market and
the bottom line.
•
Prescriptions for Successful
Multichannel Integration
To fulfill consumer needs while providing a seamless experience across channels, banks should
focus on ensuring cross-channel consistency
and creating a set of predictable outcomes. This
is predicated on integrating channels, devices,
products and functions across all touchpoints.
Banks can choose to either integrate all channels
on a single platform or use a common set of services on each platform to
Banks can choose perform similar functions,
supplemented by additional
to either integrate services that are unique to
all channels on a a channel.
single platform or
use a common set
of services on each
platform to perform
similar functions,
supplemented by
additional services
that are unique to
a channel.
Successful channel integration will provide banks with
unprecedented data and
insights to understand the
full spectrum of customer
behavior. Armed with these
insights, banks can structure products and services
aligned with such behavior. A study by Thomas H.
Davenport, author and the
President's Distinguished
Professor of IT and Management at Babson College, and Jill Dyché, Vice President of Best Practices at SAS, observes that some major banks are
now using structured and semi-structured data
to monitor customer movements across channels such as Web sites, call centers, tellers and
branch staff. By doing so, they are learning how
such paths influence purchases and attrition.20
To ensure successful integration, we recommend
that banks:
cognizant reports
•
•
•
•
6
Align operations, business and IT. Without
this alignment, it will be impossible to deliver
a consistent customer experience. While IT
integration is a major challenge in itself, the
critical success factor for successful channel
integration lies in successfully aligning operations with channel solutions. This alignment
must take place in both the design of IT solutions that enable ease of operations and the
successful training of operations personnel
who can use technology tools at their disposal.
Consider integrating sales and service
across the five key delivery channels:
branch, contact center, online, ATM and
mobile. Banks can accomplish this by ensuring
the convergence of processes focused on customer interaction and back-office fulfillment.
This needs to be supplemented by levels of
support appropriate to each channel, such as
“click to chat” and context-sensitive help.
Provide operational enablers to equip the
front-office staff (such as the branch and call
center) with information from multiple disparate back-end systems. Such systems include
CRM and all product systems of record.
Use a service-oriented architecture (SOA).21
By doing so, banks can reap three major
advantages: improvement in time to market,
data consistency (which is critical to ensuring a seamless customer experience through
cross-channel consistency and enhanced regulatory compliance) and overcoming limitations
imposed by legacy systems.22
Reengineer
core
business
processes
by developing a set of standard services
and back-office processes. Doing so enables
transactions such as opening an account, balance inquiries and bill payments to execute
effectively over multiple channels. Such transactions can go a long way in supporting banks’
channel integration endeavors. For banks
whose operating departments rely on manual
processes, increased volumes and different

7. sources of information proliferate. Such banks
can make use of workflow engines and business rules to ensure consistency regardless of
the channel from which transactions originate.
• Leverage advanced analytics. Understanding
customer behavior and preferences and using
them effectively lies at the core of multichannel transformation. When channel integration
is combined with analytics, it can enhance
customer experience and efficiencies, in addition to revealing revenue growth opportunities. This also marks a shift from the era of
“studying a sample” to “studying the individual consumer,” empowering banks to personalize products and services. Banks can track
and analyze all of a customer’s multichannel
interactions with the bank and use that data
to inform appropriate service and marketing
interventions.
• Leverage social media. Banks’ ability to
listen to their customers’ voices on social
media sites and respond can be strengthened
by integrating their social media approaches
with their contact centers.23 Armed with
consistent customer data across channels,
banks can engage with their customers effectively on social media sites.
Prescriptions for Enhancing Customer
Experience
Channel integration is a valuable means of
enhancing customer experience – a necessary
condition for satisfying increasingly tech-savvy
consumers and keeping disruptive nonbank
competitors at bay. Yet, while consumer technologies have taken convenience to new heights,
banks are still struggling to keep pace. Given its
phenomenal growth, the online channel is the
main entryway to shaping customer experience.24
When consumers enter through this door to open
accounts, they are often required to e-mail the
application or are directed to other non-electronic
channels. Add to this the absence of integrated
fulfillment processes, and the result will not meet
customer expectations, given how accustomed
consumers are to real-time processing and fulfillment of nonbanking transactions. Therefore, we
recommend that banks:
•
Make available a 360-degree view of
customer data and activity, to leverage
cross-channel data while upselling and crossselling to customers. Banks can auto-fill
cognizant reports
product applications with available customer
data to reduce customer effort as much as
possible.25
• Optimize devices for attitudes. Customers’
attitudes can vary from quick, to casual, to
focused, to physical.26 Multichannel experiences can delight customers when banks focus
on customer attitudes
first and then on devices. While consumer
Smartphones may be
technologies
best suited for those with
a “quick” attitude, tablets have taken
for “casual” customers, convenience to new
and personal interaction
heights, banks are
for physical customers.27
Banks can achieve this by still struggling to
optimizing mobile apps keep pace.
and Web sites for different attitudes. Also critical is the need to link
apps related to different channels to enable
the flow of information across channels. This
ability is key to providing a seamless journey, a
goal of multichannel banking.28
• Enhance usability through consistency.
Usability is a key component of customer
engagement and experience. To provide a
seamless experience, banks should aim to
create a consistent look and feel on user interface screens across channels – online, mobile
and ATM.29
Prescriptions to Drive Profitability
The potential gains of channel integration are so
significant that continuing the status quo is an
unacceptable option. Failure to adapt jeopardizes
customer experience and can lead to a loss of
market share to aggressive competitors. However,
banks’ channel integration endeavors are sustainable only if they simultaneously contribute to the
bank’s profitability, either by growing revenues or
by reducing costs.
By integrating channels and fulfillment processes,
banks will have laid the foundation necessary to
improving the customer experience. Enhanced
experience can arrest customer attrition and
improve the prospect of cross-selling. Also, social
media-savvy consumers can potentially become
the banks’ brand ambassadors, helping them
grow market share. When channel integration
is coupled with automation and efficiency
improvement initiatives, banks can yield a material reduction in costs.
7

8. The consumer shift to digital channels for routine
banking transactions has been accompanied by a
significant increase in the number of transactions,
as well (see Figure 3).
We recommend
three sets of levers
that enhance
revenues, reduce
costs or achieve
both revenue growth
and cost reduction.
While transactions completed on digital channels cost much less than
high-touch transactions,
they are not free (see
Figure 4, next page). Moreover, banks have yet to
recognize the true total
costs of servicing the
growing volume of digital
transactions and passing on those costs to consumers. The inability to charge consumers for
convenience necessitates that banks consider
targeting their channel integration efforts at
driving profitability in every way possible.
We recommend three sets of levers, consisting of
drivers that enhance revenues, reduce costs or
achieve both revenue growth and cost reduction.
Revenue Levers
• Combine channel data with other client
information to understand customers’
purchasing habits. This includes channels
where customers previously purchased or
inquired about new products, as these insights
can be used to maximize the effectiveness of
marketing efforts.
• Use customer data modeling with
segmentation and real-time profiling. Such
capabilities can enable banks to offer targeted
products and services specific to each customer, delivered through customers’ preferred
channels. By taking a strategic approach to
segmentation, banks can equip frontline staff
with insights to facilitate effective channel
management, marketing and sales efforts to
drive revenue growth. (To learn more about
segmentation, see our white paper, “The New
Banking Consumer: 5 Core Segments and How
to Reach Them.”)
• Leverage multichannel capabilities. Doing
so enables banks to derive insights from customer data and preferences gathered across
channels, lines of business and the front-, middle- and back-office, as well as bring new and
personalized offers to market much faster.
• Cross-sell using cross-channel customer
data. Sales channels can leverage customer
data, insights about their activity and usage
patterns to cross-sell products relevant to
each customer.30
Cost Reduction Levers
• Drive channel optimization: Steer transactions to the channel best-suited to that
transaction to provide better customer service
and reduce costs. Costs associated with
providing services through digital channels are
significantly lower than traditional channels
(see Figure 4, next page).
• Periodically analyze call center usage to
identify high-volume and low-value transactions that can be directed to digital channels. Banks may also consider new account
Growth of U.S. Banking Transactions by Channel
All channels
Mobile
Online
ATM
Call center
Branch
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
CAGR
40%
50%
60%
Note: CAGR computed using underlying data derived from Bofi Holdings, Inc. presentation on the SEC site,
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1299709/000129970913000026/bofiholdingincinvestorpr.htm.
Source: Cognizant Research Center
Figure 3
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8

9. •
•
•
•
•
•
pricing structures for low-value clients to
encourage them to migrate to lower cost channels or opt out of the bank.
Provide high-touch interactions such as
video chat through non-branch channels.
Doing so can yield savings while satisfying
customer need for personal interactions.
Facilitate
consistent
cross-channel
messaging and functionality through SOA.
This enables banks to use the same services
across all channels, optimizing costs.
Adopt common engines for similar tasks
across all channels and product silos.
For instance, putting all consumer loans on
a single application platform will help to
minimize costs.
Use business process management (BPM)
solutions. Such solutions can help banks
automatically integrate supporting customer
information with a sales or service request,
determine the support group to which the
request should be routed, generate any forms
or correspondence required, and receive
inbound materials from the customer or
support group. These solutions can reduce
turnaround time, improve customer profitability and reduce operating expenses.
Improve operational efficiency by bridging
automation gaps. Additionally, banks should
standardize based on best-in-class practices
across different channels and product lines.
Improve the product development process.
When each channel is managed separately
on different platforms, every new product
or service the bank wants to deliver across
multiple channels must be redesigned to meet
the requirements of each silo. The costs and
time to market associated with such silos can
be improved when banks integrate channels.
Levers that Increase Customer
Retention Rates
A multichannel strategy can also increase customer retention and eventually boost the bottom
line. For example, by arresting attrition, revenue
can be better protected. Also precious capital
can be preserved by avoiding the high costs of
attracting new customers.
Satisfied customers also The inability to
make good prospects for
charge consumers
cross-selling and act as the
bank’s best brand ambassa- for convenience
dors, with acquaintances in necessitates that
both the physical and virtual
banks consider
worlds, contributing to proftargeting their
itable revenue growth.
•
channel integration
Use multichannel inteefforts at driving
gration capabilities to
improve customer ser- profitability in every
vice. A more consistent way possible.
user experience and
enhanced functionality in both self-service
and assisted interaction can help improve customer retention rates. Additionally, consistent
service delivery through a channel-agnostic
back-office can minimize errors and enable
faster resolution of customer issues. Such
actions can lead to increased positive interactions that can have a long-term impact on customer retention.
Digital Channel Costs: Lower But Not Free
$3.75
Cost per transaction
$4
$3
$2
$1.65
$1.34
$1
$0.60
$0.29
$0.16
$0.16 $0.13
$0.14 $0.10
$0.09 $0.04
Call Center
IVR
Mobile
Banking
Online
Banking
$0
Branch Teller
Call Center
Agent
ATM
(U.S. banks, 2010)
Total costs
IT costs
Source: Tower Group
Figure 4
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10. •
Leverage multichannel integration to share
information, services and functionality
across channels. Channel integration allows
customers the flexibility of using multiple
channels to complete a task. Similarly, focusing on customer convenience and simplified
delivery of products and services can result in
increased customer retention rates.
•
Capture and analyze channel data with
predictive analytics to meet and exceed
customer expectations and establish lasting
customer relationships.
• Record customers’ refusal of offers and
their preferences for receiving new offers
or information. Customers’ rejection of an
offer, as well as their marked preferences, can
Quick Take
Making Multichannel Meaningful
Here’s how we are helping a major U.S. banking client deliver a consistent customer experience across
all touchpoints.
The Challenge
The bank — headquartered in the midwest region of the U.S. — provides investment management, retail
and commercial banking, consumer finance and investment banking products and services to individuals
and companies throughout the country. It wanted to embrace a relationship banking model to enable
more effective cross-selling and up-selling across various lines of business (consumer, commercial and
private banking). To do this, it needed to identify and develop enhanced capabilities to support insightdriven selling and enable better collaboration across its consumer, private and small business segments.
The Approach
To meet these goals, the bank wanted to enable cross-channel integration, aimed at improving customer
experience by providing end-to-end service request visibility to all bank employees. Our consulting unit
provided enterprise business transformation planning that included:
• A complete understanding of the bank’s processes and the design of a business-IT strategy blueprint
and roadmap for multiple functions, such as marketing, sales, servicing and origination.
• An operational data assessment across all business segments and channels.
Additionally, we deployed our proprietary business-IT reengineering methodology and conducted workshops with key business stakeholders to elicit and achieve consensus on business requirements. Our
team also modeled and documented the bank’s business requirements.
We identified the various gaps and challenges for a complete multichannel business transformation,
and followed up by conducting joint requirement sessions to refine the solution model and gather
nonfunctional requirements. Finally, we conducted synergy meetings to cross-pollinate best practices in
the sales function across different lines of business.
Program Benefits
The initiative helped streamline the sales process and increase revenue generation by:
• Improving client insights that enable better identification of sales opportunities.
• Improving customer acquisition and retention by better understanding customer needs.
• Improving productivity by providing easy access to customer data and better collaboration tools.
Additionally, the program increased customer satisfaction and customer retention attained through
enhanced end-to-end service request handling.
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11. be shared across all channels, thus improving
customer satisfaction.
Road to Digital Banking
Channel integration does not lend itself to onesize-fits-all solutions. Banks must assess their
current state and resource constraints to find
the approach to integration that is right for
them. They can finance a portion of the investment needed for integration by optimizing branch
networks and introducing high-touch interactions
on digital channels.
Success in the emerging consumer-centric, digital
banking era is heavily predicated on successfully
completing two key steps: Effectively integrating
channels and fulfillment processes; and leveraging the foundation laid by integration to improve
the customer experience, while pursuing the need
to reduce costs and grow revenues.
Footnotes
Jörgen Ericsson, Philip Farah, Alain Vermeiren and Lauren Buckalew, “Winning Strategies for
Omnichannel Banking,” Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group, 2012, http://www.cisco.com/web/
about/ac79/docs/Cisco-IBSG-Omnichannel-Study.pdf.
1
Catherine Palmieri, “To an Analog Banker in a Digital World,” Strategy+Business, Aug. 27, 2013,
http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00206?pg=0.
2
Ibid.
3
“CBA/Forrester Survey: Retail Banks Planning For the Age of the Multichannel Customer,” Forrester
Research, Inc., Apil 2, 2013, http://www.forrester.com/CBA+Forrester+Survey+Retail+Banks+Planning
+For+The+Age+Of+The+Multichannel+Customer/-/E-PRE4844.
4
“Introducing the Millennial,” Credit Union Magazine, Feb. 13, 2013, http://www.creditunionmagazine.
com/articles/38267-introducing-the-millennial.
5
“Technology Key to Bridging the Gap Between Millennials’ and Baby Boomers’ Banking Needs,
Reports Microsoft Study,” PRNewswire, Nov. 3, 2013, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/
technology-key-to-bridging-the-gap-between-millennials-and-baby-boomers-banking-needs-reportsmicrosoft-study-68842472.html.
6
“Introducing the Millennial,” Credit Union Magazine, Feb. 13, 2013, http://www.creditunionmagazine.
com/articles/38267-introducing-the-millennial.
7
Mary Wisniewski, “Why Some Millennials Still Come to the Branch,” American Banker, Jan. 22, 2013,
http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/178_15/why-some-millennials-still-come-to-thebranch-1056038-1.html.
8
“Technology Key to Bridging the Gap Between Millennials’ and Baby Boomers’ Banking Needs,
Reports Microsoft Study,” PRNewswire, Nov. 3, 2013, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/
technology-key-to-bridging-the-gap-between-millennials-and-baby-boomers-banking-needs-reportsmicrosoft-study-68842472.html.
9
A U.S. regional banking corporation, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.
10
Bryan Yurcan, “Life Without Channels: How to Provide a Seamless Customer Experience,” Bank
Systems & Technology, June 11, 2012, http://www.banktech.com/channels/life-without-channels-howto-provide-a-s/240001637?pgno=1.
11
“Regulatory Shocker on Social Media in Banking Coming Soon,” The Financial Brand, Jan. 23, 2013,
http://thefinancialbrand.com/27250/ffiec-social-media-policy-guidelines-for-banks-credit-unions/.
12
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11

12. Daniela Yu and John H. Fleming, “How Customers Interact with their Banks,” Gallup Business
Journal, May 7, 2013, http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/162107/customers-interact-banks.
aspx?version=print.
13
Tiffani Montez, “The State Of North American Digital and Multichannel Banking 2013,” Forrester
Research, Inc., April 2, 2013, http://www.forrester.com/The+State+Of+North+American+Digital+And+
Multichannel+Banking+2013/fulltext/-/E-RES93502.
14
15
Ibid.
Catherine Palmieri, “To an Analog Banker in a Digital World,” Strategy+Business, Aug. 27, 2013,
http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00206?pg=0.
16
17
Andre Delaforge, “Biometric Authentication in a Multi-Channel Environment,” Banking Strategies,
Nov. 19, 2012, http://www.bai.org/bankingstrategies/risk-management-and-fraud/security-and-fraud/
biometric-authentication-in-a-multi-channel-environment.
“Courts Ruling Against Banks Not Compliant with FFIEC Regulations,” TrustID, Nov. 14, 2012, https://
www.trustid.com/blog/2012/11/14/courts-ruling-against-banks-not-compliant-with-ffiec-regulations/.
18
“Segment-Based Strategies for Mobile Banking,” Cognizant Technology Solutions, June 2013,
http://www.cognizant.com/InsightsWhitepapers/Segment-Based-Strategies-for-Mobile-Banking.pdf.
19
Tom Davenport and Jill Dyché “Big Data in Big Companies,” SAS Institute, Inc., http://www.sas.com/
reg/gen/corp/2266746.
20
Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is a software design and software architecture design pattern
based on discrete pieces of software providing application functionality as services to other applications. This is known as service-orientation. It is independent of any vendor, product or technology.
For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service-oriented_architecture.
21
Michael Tevebaugh, “The New Banking Paradigm: Channel Integration in a Customer-Centric World,”
CapTech, April 25, 2013, http://blogs.captechconsulting.com/blog/michael-tevebaugh/the-new-banking-paradigm-channel-integration-customer-centric-world.
22
Bryan Yurcan, “Life Without Channels: How to Provide a Seamless Customer Experience,” Bank
Systems & Technology, June 11, 2012, http://www.banktech.com/channels/life-without-channels-howto-provide-a-s/240001637?pgno=1.
23
Catherine Palmieri, “To an Analog Banker in a Digital World,” Strategy+Business, Aug. 27, 2013,
http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00206?pg=0.
24
Ibid.
25
Jelmer de Jong, “The Multichannel Banking Challenge,” BankNXT, July 2012, http://banknxt.com/603/
the-multi-channel-banking-challenge/.
26
Ibid.
27
Ibid.
28
Michael Tevebaugh, “The New Banking Paradigm: Channel Integration in a Customer-Centric World,”
CapTech, April 25, 2013, http://blogs.captechconsulting.com/blog/michael-tevebaugh/the-newbanking-paradigm-channel-integration-customer-centric-world.
29
Catherine Palmieri, “To an Analog Banker in a Digital World,” Strategy+Business, Aug. 27, 2013,
http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00206?pg=0.
30
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12

13. Credits
Author and Analyst
Rajeshwer Chigullapalli, Cognizant Research Center
Subject Matter Experts
Craig Zander, Director Consulting, Cognizant Banking & Financial Services
Anirvan Saha, Director Consulting, Cognizant Banking & Financial Services
Design
Harleen Bhatia, Design Team Lead
Suresh Chedarada, Designer
About Cognizant
Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process
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