Resilient Distribution in Banking for a Pandemic World

During the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns branch traffic declined sharply, a development that is likely to stick to some degree after the lockdowns. Consumer banking behaviors have also changed: bank executives report droves of customers downloading bank digital apps or signing up for online accounts for the first time during the lockdowns.

However, the bank branch plays a critical role in the bank distribution and servicing model especially for customer acquisitions, brand building and customer relationships. There are still significant gaps at critical junctions of the bank customer’s decision journey on digital channels including digital account openings, onboarding and remote selling. Banks must tread lightly and carefully when it comes to closing branches.  

How should banks rethink the distribution and servicing model to ensure the effects of social distancing, evolving banking behaviors and a lingering pandemic do not inhibit their ability to grow deposits,…