PSCU CEO Says 2023 Is the Year of Data-Driven Consumer Experience

Now is the time for financial institutions to evolve by facilitating seamless experiences across multiple channels to meet consumers’ changing expectations, PSCU President and CEO Chuck Fagan writes in the PYMNTS eBook, “2023 Payments New Year’s Resolutions.”

Entering 2023, it is clear that pre-pandemic consumer banking behaviors will remain in the rearview mirror for the financial services industry. Demand for personalized instant banking and payments solutions will only accelerate as digital adoption, economic uncertainties and credit usage drive consumer preferences. Financial institutions face a fork in the road: resolve to deliver data-driven, connected experiences or risk falling behind.

As their expectations evolve in tandem with new technologies and digital habits, consumers desire more personalized, seamless and immediate solutions at every touchpoint. This year, leaning into digital innovation will be more critical than ever in our industry. PSCU’s “Eye on Payments 2022” study found that nearly 4 in 10 consumers (37%) prefer to use their credit union’s mobile app when interacting with their trusted financial partner. Given the ongoing shift toward all things digital, financial institutions must evolve their digital strategies to incorporate current and potential account holders’ preferred banking and payments offerings — and meet consumers on their terms across their preferred channels.

Establishing personalized, connected experiences requires fully integrating all available data and channels. Through strategic FinTech partnerships, financial institutions can gain consumer-level insights based on data from various products and channels, including contact centers, branch visits and digital payments. Leveraging this data empowers financial institutions to bring together the right information for the right scenario and customize an ideal omnichannel member experience.

PSCU’s continued investment in data and FinTech has led to enhanced technological capabilities that leverage its established digital perspective to analyze actual consumer behavior. Predictive analytics solutions can replace antiquated risk scoring factors, a current pain point financial institutions should aim to address in 2023. With credit spending predicted to rise this year, seamless, data-driven lending practices will be essential to optimizing accountholder experiences — and should be a top priority as the lending landscape changes.

In contrast to periods of economic uncertainty and high credit usage in past decades, consumers in 2023 are also shifting away from traditional branch visits and toward time-efficient digital management of credit card accounts and other loan products. To bolster personalization and immediacy during this process, PSCU has partnered with Amount, a FinTech providing cloud-based lending origination and account opening services. Our respective expertise will enable a seamless, integrated digital account opening solution with instant lending approvals and immediate access to card credentials.

By effectively leveraging the right tools, data and partnerships, financial institutions can enable connected experiences specific to consumers’ individual needs, which builds loyalty. Now is the time for financial institutions to evolve by facilitating seamless experiences across multiple channels in response to consumers’ changing expectations and digital payments preferences. Aligning data-centric connected solutions, including lending practices, with individual account holder preferences and decision-making journeys creates an exceptional member experience — and will strengthen the consumer-financial institution relationship in 2023.