Personalising digital banking with human middleware: Why humans still have a place in customer service for banking

Abstract

As the world marches irrevocably towards fully digital experiences, consumers increasingly expect to be able to fulfil their banking needs online, whenever and wherever they want to. Two of the main challenges facing banks in the race for digitisation, however, are how to deepen customer relationships within a remote channel and how to meet the continued customer desire for advice from a real person in complex transactions, such as buying a home or financial advice. This paper discusses the current trends in banking channel preferences for consumers and examines how front-line teams are meeting those needs. It explores the concept of human middleware, defined here as the intersection of humans and technology in delivering banking services. And with the need to balance customer service expectations alongside productivity, efficiency and cost management, it provides a case study of some of the steps smaller financial institutions are taking to remain relevant in the banking market by leveraging ‘human digital’ services for customers.