Digital Account Opening Raises the Bar for Single-Channel Success

The pandemic changed the game for account opening at financial institutions. No longer are mobile and online channels complementary players in banks’ sales success. Now, those channels are vital to bringing in and onboarding new customers, with 80% of successful checking account applicants having at least touched online or mobile banking last year while establishing their accounts, up markedly from five years earlier. 

Still, the single-channel ideal of starting an application and opening a new account remains elusive for many prospective customers, who are apt to use several channels while establishing their accounts. Each handoff carries the risk of application abandonment, so it behooves financial institutions to make the transitions seamless from channel to channel. This Javelin Strategy & Research report lays out the challenges faced by FIs and how they can best approach them and boost their sales.

Key questions discussed in this report:

• Where have digital channels surpassed branches in account opening?
• What must banks do to minimize abandonments from mobile account applications?
• Which areas of digital account opening need the greatest attention?