It has been said that no industry stands to gain more from big data than banking.  And thanks to Internet retail giants like Amazon, Apple and Google that use big data so effectively, consumers are conditioned to expect a high level of personalization on digital channels. Unfortunately, most banks have yet to scratch the surface when it comes to personalizing the customer experience through the effective use of big data.

Most technology analyst firms prognosticate on the big data concept and agree that the application of technology across all the data sources banks have at their disposal will be a major game-changer.  Booz Allen Hamilton says, “As big data continues to grow, the most successful, competitive organizations will be the ones with the ability to turn that data into game-changing paths to new revenue opportunities and operational effectiveness.”  So according to the experts, harnessing Big Data can provide better CX and retention, revenue generation, cost savings, compliance and reduced risk and more.  Frankly it seems like there isn’t an area that Big Data can’t help, but who is actually realizing any benefits right now, when it seems most business executives don’t even know exactly what Big Data is?

Big Data Planning Guide for Financial Services – Perficient, March 2013

(http://www.perficient.com/Thought-Leadership/White-Papers/2013/Big-Data-Planning-Guide-for-Financial-Services)

The Data Challenge: Disparate, High Velocity and the Cloud

Banks are challenged just to locate the most pertinent internally-siloed information, let alone integrate that with outside sources to provide something truly useful to their customers and business.  The velocity, or speed, at which data is collected is yet another challenge – it’s difficult to extract a single bit of insight from a terabit fire hose of incoming information.   The critical point is finding a solution that maps to existing data within an institution and augmenting it with industry and proprietary databases and crowd sourcing analytics to create a robust, personalized customer view that can predict the individual needs of each customer.  It’s about finding those moments of truth and capitalizing on them each and every time.

Big Data Planning Guide for Financial Services – Perficient, March 2013

(http://www.perficient.com/Thought-Leadership/White-Papers/2013/Big-Data-Planning-Guide-for-Financial-Services)

Banking Solutions that Provide Value from Big Data Today:

Personetics has built a packaged application that leverages Big Data and applies this to a bank’s digital channels.  The predictive banking solution immediately presents customers with what they need to know each time they log into a banking application, always offering a personalized list of prioritized items they should be aware of and the right paths to resolve issues and answer questions within the digital self-service channels.  Personetics promotes financial awareness of what’s going on in a customer’s account at any given time.  Right now, banks can leverage Big Data and predictive customer interactivity technology to improve CX, reduce service costs, and increase revenue with timely, personalized offers.

http://www.personetics.com/driving-utilization/

SundaySky uses Big Data to drive personalized videos for customers as part of the onboarding process as well as to promote new products to banking customers. Its SmartVideo solution supports initiatives for banking institutions to move to top of wallet, increase customer loyalty and increase share of wallet by providing individuals differentiated experiences.  It drives activation and early utilization with a personalized video presentation that proactively educates the customer about his or her specific account, briefly explains the first statement, highlights value-added services to get the most out of his or her new account and recommends actions that deliver a better customer experience.

http://www.sundaysky.com/industries/banking/

Another firm, Cardlytics, provides relevant rewards based on customers’ unique shopping habits. They leverage banks’ data and customer intelligence to precisely target cardholders with timely offers.  Cardlytics powers card reward programs at both large and regional banks.

http://www.cardlytics.com/FinancialInstitutions/Benefits.aspx

Big Data benefits in banking are no longer unrealized.  Some of largest banks in the US are rolling-out these new predictive banking capabilities.  Other applications are sure to follow – as long as they improve service and the customer experience, not just pitch new products!

Its up to the banks and vendors that supply solutions to financial services firms to determine how else to extract value from what banks already know about their customers, the market and competitors to create the next generation of game-changing applications.

Additional Resources:

 Best Practices for Big Data Maturity in Financial Services – Gartner, August 2012

(http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?docCode=233996&ref=g_fromdoc)

Big Data Planning Guide for Financial Services – Perficient, March 2013

(http://www.perficient.com/Thought-Leadership/White-Papers/2013/Big-Data-Planning-Guide-for-Financial-Services)

The Data Lake, Turning Big Data into Opportunity – Booze Allen Hamilton

(http://www.boozallen.com/media/file/FS_MakingTheCloudReign.pdf)

With Big Data Comes Great Responsibility (To Your Customers) – Bank Systems & Technology, Feb 2012

(http://www.banktech.com/business-intelligence/with-big-data-comes-great-responsibility/232600252)