In digital banking, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication

Today’s customers, especially digitally native young people, demand seamless and effortless experiences. It is now second nature for customers to expect instant services and solutions in a world where e-commerce platforms provide many local and global options, delivered to your doorstep.

This presents an opportunity and challenge for service-based industries to meet customer expectations while remaining responsive and relevant, especially in the banking sector.

Banks grapple with providing security for customer’s money while providing convenience in the advent of digitalisation. This calls for creativity and simplified systems to ensure that the customers transact with ease and convenience.

This is confirmed by the 2024 Kenya Banking Industry Customer Experience Survey by KPMG East Africa, which found that reducing customer effort and time spent on banking transactions was a key driver of satisfaction and loyalty.

In the survey of over 800 retail and business banking customers in Kenya, the rating on time and effort simplicity scored an average of 8.24 out of 10.

The most advanced technologies are often the most seamlessly integrated into our lives. We scarcely notice them as they quietly enhance our everyday experiences. The same holds for the latest innovations in digital banking. The most sophisticated apps are those that feel utterly intuitive and frictionless. Simplicity, not complexity, is the hallmark of an elevated user experience.

Imagine if your banking app was as easy to use as your favourite social media or music streaming platform. What if a few intuitive taps were all it took to send money to a friend, check your balances, make payments, invest, or apply for a loan? Wouldn’t this experience give you the wow factor that wins you over as a loyal customer? The latest innovations in digital banking are realising this vision and setting a new standard for seamless user experiences.

Now look back at your digital banking journey and recall an experience where you experienced some strain from fumbling with your mobile phone, squinting at the screen, while trying to make a simple payment or check your account balance.

Remember the frustration of tapping buttons haphazardly and navigating through endless submenus until you finally give up?

Legacy banking apps often bury the most basic functions under layers of cluttered interfaces with tedious processes. To accomplish simple tasks can feel daunting as one navigates through a maze of incomprehensible features.

Confusion with an app interface might lead to frustrations and even account abandonment. According to a recent survey by Money Summit, 34 percent of customers cite a poor, overly complex app interface as a reason for switching banks.

The financial institutions that thrive are those that embrace “less is more” as their guiding philosophy. Customers neither need nor want to be overwhelmed with a dizzying array of features.

The writer is the Manager, Digital Banking, SBM Bank Kenya.