Top Retail Banking Trends of 2019

1. Increased Focus on Risk Mitigation

As threats like identity thefts and multi-channel attacks are becoming more and more prevalent, the banks are expected to be making risk mitigation a top priority this year. It’s worth noting that the banks lost a whopping ₹32,000 crores in the financial year 2017-18 alone. Interestingly, the number of frauds also increased from 794 in FY-17 to 981 in FY-18. Thus, the risk is too big to ignore now.

2. Next-Gen Customer Service

As the millennials make up for a large chunk of banking customers today, traditional banks are under huge pressure of offering on-demand and simplified banking services across more accessible channels like apps, social media, and e-commerce. Many private banks have already taken a step in the right direction. For instance, Axis bank’s AxisDirect is available on WhatsApp which updates the customers about market conditions and new products.

3. More of AI

Artificial Intelligence has a huge significance in the banking sector as it can reduce costs and improve customer service. Many banks are already using it, like SBI that launched Electronic Live Assistant (ELA), an AI-powered online assistant, or Kotak Mahindra Bank’s AI-powered voice bot Keya. This year, we are going to see more of these technologies.