Corporate or commercial banking for SMEs faces a unique challenge. The products and processes involved in this sector are undoubtedly more complex than their retail or private banking counterparts.
But this doesn’t mean that corporate banks can’t take a leaf out of their retail or private banking cousins’ playbook, particularly when it comes to the value of service quality. Offering higher levels of customer experience translates to wide-ranging competitive advantages. It can lead to new avenues of growth, particularly around onboarding and value-added solutions.
What’s more, improved service can have a positive effect in providing transparency around the arguably varied and obscure fee structures that are necessary in corporate environments.
The fact is, improved service quality is essential in corporate banking and digital transformation is key.
Is it enough to embrace digital transformation?
This idea of “embracing digital transformation” or digital transition has been on the card for years now. But a recent Accenture article suggests that renewing legacy systems alone isn’t enough.
They say, “Commercial banking is at a strategic inflection point. As we look ahead to the next five years and beyond, the question is no longer how to keep pace with change – but how to lead it.”
The article, which explores trends in corporate banking regarding digital assets, touches on topical issues like Generative AI and risk management. But one of the more compelling points looks at transaction banking as a new growth engine.
The point they argue is that, “banks are repositioning transaction banking around growth opportunities – reimagining onboarding, servicing, and value-added solutions across payments, cash management, trade finance, and treasury services.”
This gets to the heart of the issue in that value generation can come from service quality. And while it is something that is currently underexploited in corporate contexts, it is not the only potential benefit of placing a higher emphasis on service through digital transformation.
Challenges with fee structures
The recent fall in interest means that corporate banks need to rely more heavily on fee structures to generate revenue. But this is something that doesn’t always sit well with customers, mostly with regard to transparency.
A telling statistics from EY reveals that, “visibility of global banking operations poses a challenge to over 80% of companies, and more than 60% are dissatisfied with the clarity of their current bank charges.”
Complex fee structures are necessary in corporate banking and optimization is key. The solution that EY offers is threefold:
- A solid banking strategy.
- Robust processes and controls to ensure efficiency and risk management.
- Transparent bank fee analysis.
However, EY maintains that the glue to hold this all together is in bank relationship management. No matter what way you look at it, whether repositioning transaction banking around growth opportunities or optimizing your fee structure (especially in a low-interest environment) service level is key.
Strategies for digital transformation in corporate banking
This brings us back to the importance of communication in corporate banking, something which has historically been lacking. But before we delve into the specific tools, it’s important to get a strategic overview of how they can be beneficial.
The role of digital interaction tools
In essence, service quality becomes a competitive differentiator when digital channels deliver faster, more tailored client experiences. Tools like Co-Browsing and secure messaging elevate onboarding and ongoing service, enabling real-time collaboration in a corporate banking context.
Digital solutions also help bring clarity to complex fee structures, enabling bankers to walk clients through pricing in real time, which reduces friction and increases transparency. When integrated into a seamless omnichannel ecosystem, these capabilities ensure continuity across touchpoints, whether the interaction begins with a secure message, continues over video, or shifts to a phone call where Co-Browsing is active. AI-powered advisor support further enhances responsiveness by surfacing insights, suggesting next best actions, or pre-filling data, freeing up experts to focus on relationship building rather than routine tasks.
Simplicity at its core
The strategy is quite simple at its core. It’s about optimizing workflows to improve efficiency and enhance the quality and technical ability of client interactions and collaboration. The strength of this combined experience (which results in improved satisfaction) represents a significant source of untapped value.
Building the relationship through digital interaction
Now, let’s look more closely at the Unblu tools that corporate banks can use to improve relationship building and unlock new value streams.
AI-Powered Workbench
A unified customer experience from onboarding to the ongoing relationship is only possible through sophisticated internal organizational capabilities. The AI-Powered Workbench offers AI-enhanced tools to offer agents or advisors complete context and control before, during, and after every interaction. It is process automation with a unique human touch.
Collaboration tools
Complex operations require complex periods of collaboration, whether carrying out research, revising documents, or explaining products. In an online environment, it can be difficult to achieve the level of collaboration necessary to achieve full transparency.
Unblu’s collaboration tools offer unique capabilities across different contexts, whether Embedded Co-Browsing for desktop research, Co-Apping for a mobile-native collaboration experience in the app or wealth portal, or Document Collaboration.
This latter, Document Collaboration, is a collaboration tool that has been uniquely designed to aid in even the most complex document revision sessions, including secure highlighting and commenting features as well as a digital signature tool to capture consent.
Secure Messenger
Individual advisor and client relationships are the backbone of any successful collaboration between a bank and a company. Secure Messenger offers a natural and personalized method of back-and-forth communication that mimics the way we communicate in our everyday lives.
All messages are stored securely, accessible from the AI-Powered Workbench, and adhere to compliance backgrounds.
Video & Voice
Personal, human communication is always invaluable in high-value interactions. With Video & Voice channels, advisors and clients get the opportunity to speak freely in a secure, flexible environment.
What’s more, these interactions are fully embedded into the digital journey, allowing seamless transitions from chat channels or Co-Browsing into Video & Voice conversations – without requiring third-party tools or losing context. The result is deeper engagement, accelerated decision-making, and stronger client relationships.
How Unblu helps banks serve SMEs
So, how has Unblu helped accelerate client servicing in corporate banking contexts?
The Warsaw-based bank mBank, the fifth largest bank in Poland in total assets, wanted to improve the quality of remote support that their corporate clients received in the mBank CompanyNet e-banking system.
Achieving this involved partnering with Unblu to provide a more streamlined and personal support service by embedding a Live Chat channel into the e-banking system. This was further enhanced with the introduction of Co-Browsing, becoming the first Polish bank to offer this capability. The result was a more quick, convenient, and efficient access point for corporate banking clients.
Maintaining service quality with a Paris-based bank
Operating at a new scale always involves a concerted effort to ensure that service experiences remain to standard. A bank based in Paris found that their SME clients alone were generating two million portal connections each month from 100,000 unique visitors.
The inevitable technical and business inquiries that result from this high level of traffic meant that the organization needed to find an effective way to onboard clients and educate them on the range of services available.
After onboarding, there was also a need to ensure agents could resolve issues and introduce new services to ensure client satisfaction and retention.
The approach of using traditional methods like FAQs and brochures was only moderately successful and the team decided they needed a more interactive and personalized approach.
To overcome this issue, the bank implemented Unblu Embedded Co-Browsing to empower agents to visualize client issues and achieve better resolutions, while also greatly helping with onboarding keeping clients abreast of new services.
To ensure customer satisfaction and unlock hidden value, corporate banks must embrace digital technology – whether that means digital banking, mobile banking, or an overarching digital platform.
Unblu offers a powerful Digital Client Interaction Solution that draws on artificial intelligence to enhance customer relationships while maintaining regulatory compliance.
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