Article
Digital Banking Maturity Study 2022
Challenges and opportunities for banks: A Swiss perspective
In its fifth edition, Deloitte investigated 304 banks in 41 countries around the globe – among them 10 banks from Switzerland.
It has become evident over the past two years that while all the Swiss banks have improved their maturity scores, the Digital Champions continue to innovate at a much faster pace. Swiss banks therefore risk losing ground.
To conduct an in-depth assessment of bank’s digital maturity, our researchers used a mystery shopper approach to obtain real account holder insights and assess more than 1,200 functionalities in the digital channels (public website, e-banking and mobile app) of each bank. In combination with survey-based market research into customer needs and a detailed user experience (UX) analysis, the study provides unique insights into the strategies and best practices of digital leaders.
Switzerland has lost its leading position in the group of “Digital Champions” and is now only ranked 21st globally. The analysis explains why Swiss banks are falling behind and what steps they should take to improve their position.
Key findings
Swiss banks were able to improve their average Digital Banking Maturity Score across all analyzed functional categories. However, most of the Digital Champions innovated by enabling more functionalities across all digital channels at a much faster pace, causing Switzerland to fall in the ranks from 18th in 2020 to 21st in 2022. In the current study, only one of the 30 Digital Champions is from Switzerland. Swiss banks risk failing to keep up with the rising expectations of customers in terms of ensuring a satisfying user experience and a sufficient range of functionalities to best address their daily needs.
The Swiss banks are lagging in all categories compared to the digital champions which are innovating at a faster pace
Today, consumers expect a streamlined digital banking experience that is easy to use and instantly available. They want to open an account in just a few minutes, from wherever they are located, and start using it immediately. They want to be able to view their account balance and transactions and receive updates in real time. Swiss banks are often unable to provide customers with such a seamless experience when opening an account. Their mobile and internet channels lack functionality compared to Digital Champions. For example, real-time validation of inputs and progress tracking is available only at a rudimentary level. As a result, Swiss banks risk losing customers during the onboarding process.
Across the account opening process, Swiss banks fall short in the provision of digital functionalities
Digital channels offer an important opportunity for banks to cross-sell and upsell products to their existing customers. The performance of Swiss banks was compared with the global Digital Champions for each of three product categories: Transactional products, savings and investment, and credit.
Compared to the Digital Champions, Swiss banks fall short in all three product categories.
Across the account opening process, Swiss banks fall short in the provision of digital functionalities
To compete in the market, and boost customer engagement and loyalty, banks should look to offer more than just traditional banking services to their clients. They need to provide innovative functionalities and solutions.
It was observed that Digital Champions offer a range of functionalities beyond banking, relating to commercial services, mobility or even entertainment services. Swiss banks, however, offer only a very limited number of banking- related commercial and auxiliary services. As a result, they are missing out on opportunities to improve client engagement and to develop an infrastructure for data-driven, personalized customer engagement and marketing efforts.
Swiss banks offer services only in the commercial and auxiliary realm
When it comes to user experience and usability, challenger banks score better than traditional banks across all functionalities. With products that are purely app-based, they succeed in creating a seamless digital experience. In addition, challenger banks attract customers with highly innovative features, and can meet customer expectations much faster than their competitors.
Challenger banks are also leading the way when it comes to usability. They benefit from the irreversible trend towards digital and mobile banking among a new generation of banking clients. While the banking industry as a whole continues to expand its digital offerings, it is primarily the challenger banks that are introducing innovative functionalities.
Challengers are more likely to differentiate themselves by adopting innovative solutions
Three imperatives for Swiss banks to reclaim a leading position
Key contacts
Key Contacts
