The finance industry – in the shape of day to day banking - has led in digital transformation and innovation with apps and instant transactions.

One of the things that caught my eye in the Institute of Customer Services UK’s (UKSCI) most recent report on customer satisfaction was the suggestion that a growing number of customers are prepared to pay more for improved service.

I recently took part in a session at the UK Finance Annual Mortgage Conference on technology in the mortgage space. In the first of two blogs, I’m going to explore how technology plays a big role in customers’ experience and their journeys by answering questions that came up during the session.

In the second of two blogs following on from a discussion on technology in the mortgage space at the UK Finance Annual Mortgage Conference, I’m exploring the challenges the industry is facing with adopting tech and how it could make better progress by answering more questions that came up during the session.

Getting through to someone who can help is causing financial services customers the most frustration, according to the latest Institute of Customer Service report.

The theme for this year’s National Apprenticeship Week is ‘Build the Future’ and is designed to encourage everyone to consider how apprenticeships help individuals to build the skills and knowledge required for a rewarding career.

It doesn’t seem too long ago that the introduction of interactive voice response (IVR) received a rocky reception with many customers citing that they preferred to speak to a ‘real human’.

The consumer desire for a brighter Christmas amidst continuing Covid-19 restrictions has seen a sharp rise in ‘buy now pay later’ schemes, and with furlough ending and depression rates rising, a perfect storm lies ahead for all collections teams as consumers juggle multiple payment demands.

The second year of the pandemic has seen more people in the UK slide further into debt and organisations need to recalibrate their response through empathetic collections.

Treating customers with empathy has been an increasingly important area of focus within the customer experience industry.