Customers are increasingly showing an appetite for taking control of their finances, according to ING Direct Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Vaughn Richtor.
Customers are increasingly showing an appetite for taking control of their finances, according to ING Direct Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Vaughn Richtor.
Speaking ahead of FST Media’s upcoming The Future of Banking & Financial Services conference in Sydney, Richtor said that any technological innovations which assist modern day customers in becoming more self-directed in their everyday banking and investment activities – including superannuation – are significant and will help banks add value to their services.
“I think we will see more of personal modelling tools, which allow people to plan more effectively for the future, as well as organisations delivering tailored solutions to customers; solutions which cater to individual nuances via greater understanding of what individual customers value,” Richtor said.
“The pace of change and innovation is moving so rapidly, that organisations can no longer take their time with research and delivery; they have to be increasingly agile to compete in the marketplace.”
Richtor said that speed and constant innovation are both key for banks who want to be successful in engaging customers of the future.
“We aim to deliver consistently fair value and simple products to everyone who banks with us. We have to consider what customers will be looking for in 2025, what kind of environment they will be operating in and what technology will be available to support innovation,” he said.
“But we need to constantly test our hypotheses with real customers and develop our solutions with them.”
According to Richtor, a key priority for ING Direct over the next 12 to 18 months will see the bank focus on growth, building customer advocacy as well as expanding the bank’s current offerings to help promote new customer acquisition.
“Customer equity is now a core part of all our propositions; we want to delight and reward our existing customer base as well as attract new customers,” he said.
“We need to meet the expectations of the customer, but the challenge is to look beyond that and deliver products and services which customers may not know yet [that] they need or will value.”
Vaughn Richtor will be speaking at FST Media’s upcoming The Future of Banking & Financial Services conference in Sydney, in addition to a distinguished panel of senior executives and thought leaders across financial services on November 10 and 11. To hear more insights, register your attendance here.
