Guest Commentary By Steve Bruyn, Foresight Research
Branch Versus Digital Banking in Missouri
What is right for the Missouri market?
I suppose I should start with a confession. Te chief financial officer says “we can save a lot of money by closing branches so let’s make sure that we run this bank as efficiently as we can.” Ten the branch folks add, “No, no. Our business still relies on the personal touch with our customers.” Te financial folks follow with “Tis is the digital age, so we need to live in the here and now, and we have spent a lot of money on new digital soſtware, so we need to offset the cost of all that.” Tis is followed by “All the customers want is mobile and online banking, and the fintechs are coming to meet that need — big time.” Branches respond, “Our advantage is our footprint, and you want to give that up?” Te argument continues with no facts from the customer — the ultimate judge.
So, who is right for the Missouri market? Tat’s where Foresight Research comes in. Foresight Research surveyed 525 banking consumers (including 250 in St. Louis and 200 in Kansas City) to measure the banking habits of consumers in Missouri.
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mobankers.com
USERS OF BRANCH & DIGITAL BANKING IN MISSOURI Online banking (using the bank website) is the predominant frequent mode of banking access across Missouri, followed closely by mobile apps. Although branch banking is used at least occasionally by four out of five customers, only a small minority are frequent branch users. So overall, score one for the finance types who would point to the diminished use of branches.
EXPECTATIONS & SATISFACTION WITH BRANCH & DIGITAL ACCESS Frequent users of digital have generally higher expectations than frequent users of branch banking on many measures. Tis is particulary true when it comes to fraud protection and handling problems promptly and easily. In addition, overall satisfaction also is somewhat higher among frequent users of digital compared to frequent users of branch banking, except for “offers good advice” and “handles problems easily and promptly.” On those measures, branch banking
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