“Banks are the single most important component of Arizona’s economy. Not only do they lend to Arizonans, but they employ nearly 50,000 Arizonans, reinvesting in their communities and providing financial and social stability in their markets. Bankers educate young adults on the importance of financial responsibility. Bankers donate significant time and money to charities. Banks are, in many ways, the lifeblood of our neighborhoods and communities,” says the Arizona Bankers Association on its website.
Banking, like many other industries, faced special challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of its response has been in an area that had already begun to gain interest: digital banking.
Accelerating Digital Banking Development
As brick-and-mortar establishments had to severely limit their working hours during the lockdown, digital banking picked up the slack to accommodate the financial needs of people working from home. “These circumstances unveiled the true importance of taking a digital-first approach,” explains Agne Selemonaitė, deputy CEO at ConnectPay. “As the new wave of customers sieged the system, faster development of banking services took precedence.”
In the U.S. alone, more than 45% have changed the way they bank amidst the crisis and, based on a European customer survey by McKinsey, there has been a 20% increase in digital engagement levels in parallel with a significant decrease in the use of cash. According to Selemonaitė, this shift to online will remain even after COVID-19, further accelerating digital market development.
Retail Banking Remains Significant
At the same time, as Scott Lewis, a seasoned banker recently named the regional director of banking for the Southwest Region at JPMorgan Chase, observes, “This is an exciting time in retail banking as branches remain critical to our customers and we continue to take an integrated physical and digital approach to banking.”
