The financial sector is currently undergoing a comprehensive digital transformation. Banking apps, self-service platforms, chatbots, and digital advisory tools have long become standard. Yet many offerings overlook a crucial factor: experience.
Digital services are often technically solid but emotionally cold. They meet functional requirements but rarely manage to truly delight customers or foster long-term loyalty. And it is precisely this digital experience that is key to differentiating oneself in an increasingly saturated market.
Looking at other industries shows what better practices look like: e-commerce players have demonstrated how customer-centricity and experience can become genuine growth drivers. The financial services sector can gain valuable insights here—if decision-makers are willing to think beyond mere process digitalization.
Status Quo: Efficiency Dominates – Customer Experience Remains Secondary
In recent years, many banks and insurers have been under intense pressure caused by regulatory requirements, cost constraints, and the need to automate internal processes. The primary focus has been on efficiency improvements and digitalizing existing workflows.
The result: digital channels exist but are often interchangeable, complex to use, and emotionally uninspiring.
Typical examples include online banking portals, which offer all the necessary functionality but rarely feel intuitive or inspiring. Another example: insurance processes that have been digitized but remain heavily product-centered and not particularly user-friendly.
Often, the customer experience ends at the login screen.
At the same time, expectations are rising. Customers today are accustomed to digital standards from other areas of life. They expect ease of use, personalized offers, and emotional touchpoints. If these expectations are not met, there is a risk of losing customers—especially to new digital players such as FinTechs or BigTechs.
What E-Commerce Does Better: Experience as a Growth Driver
The e-commerce sector recognized early that technology alone is not enough. The key to success lies in consistent customer-centricity and the creation of seamless, relevant, and emotional experiences:
Convenience
One-click orders, intelligent product recommendations, and flexible delivery options give customers a sense of ease and control.
Personalization
Data usage enables the delivery of relevant content, products, and services tailored to each individual. Customers feel understood.
Emotion & Storytelling
Successful brands manage to infuse digital experiences with emotion through strong brand worlds, consistent design, and inspiring content.
Companies like Amazon, Zalando, and About You have perfected these principles and set the benchmark for all digital industries. It is crucial that experience is not treated as an “add-on” but as an integral part of business strategy.
Three Learnings Financial Services Can Adopt
The good news: many of these success principles can be effectively transferred to the financial sector—even if the framework conditions are different. Three aspects are particularly relevant:
Design Seamless Customer Journeys
Banks and insurers must guide customers through complete processes—not along internal organizational structures. This means breaking down channel silos, simplifying transitions, and designing journeys from the customer’s perspective.
Example: A bank account opening process should not be fragmented across website, app, branch, and identity verification, but rather be seamless and intuitive.Increase Personalization and Relevance
Many institutions have enormous amounts of data but still underutilize it for truly relevant, individualized offerings. Instead of standardized mailings and generic product suggestions, context-driven communication is required: the right content, at the right time, in the right channel. This creates real closeness and value.
Strengthen Emotional Branding and UX
Trust is a central asset in the financial sector. It is therefore crucial to design digital touchpoints consistently, clearly, and humanely.
Modern, accessible UX design, clear language, transparent processes, and a brand that demonstrates values—all of this helps customers feel not only secure but also welcome.
Discover here how to optimize the UX of your digital offerings and avoid common pitfalls.
From Strategy to Implementation: Embedding Experience
To ensure that experience is not just a side project but a true competitive advantage, a clear approach is required:
Strategically Anchor CX/UX
Customer experience should be an integral part of overall strategy, not just a marketing topic.
Foster Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Successful digital experiences require alignment and collaboration between business, IT, UX, and marketing teams.
Implement Iterative Workflows
Instead of monolithic, large-scale projects, agile, test-driven approaches are increasingly important. The motto: learn quickly, improve, scale.
Initiate Cultural Change
It’s time to shift focus from the product to the actual goal: the customer experience. Achieving this requires courage for change, leadership, and clear priorities.
Conclusion: Experience is the Key Success Factor
Digitalization in the financial sector continues to advance. However, merely digitalizing processes without simultaneously redesigning the customer experience is insufficient to remain competitive.
Digital experience is the decisive factor in building trust, securing loyalty, and differentiating in the market. E-commerce UX demonstrates how digital customer experiences can become a critical driver of growth and success.
Now is the time for banks, insurers, and FinTechs to consistently adopt this approach and make experience a top priority. How does your target audience experience your digital services? Let’s explore the potential together!
