Explore more insights

Selfie-service hits banking

NatWest has introduced an easy-to-use selfie-service for current account customers

Adriana Amato Jul 24, 2019

Many of us will actually remember when selfies became a mainstream thing around the mid-noughties. A peculiarity at first, the DIY picture has become a cultural force: Ellen Degeneres’s Oscar selfie garnered 3.3m retweets, and in 2013 the OED named ‘selfie’ its word of the year.

Millennials have been christened the ‘selfie generation. So it seems appropriate that NatWest is seizing on the zeitgeist and will now allow customers to open an account with a selfie. Once the snap is taken, real-time biometric checks confirm the customer’s selfie matches the image in their photographic ID.

This selfie-service account opening, NatWest said, provides complete convenience. Commenting on the announcement, Frans Woelders, NatWest’s Chief Digital Officer, said the initiative means customers can “open accounts at a time and a place that suits them and not have to worry about sending precious ID documents in the post or taking time out of their day to go to a branch”.

This is all very commendable: after all, who among us enjoy bureaucratic procedure? And this novel selfie mechanism will spare prospective customers time and effort. But dig a little deeper into the announcement, and you quickly find its emblematic of another challenge in business banking.

More and more, banks are de-emphasising in-person banking. The consumer group Which? found that 2,868 bank branches closed between 2015 and the end of 2018. Alarmingly, the group said, the number will likely accelerate in 2019.

 

 

The banks with the most closures

NatWest and its parent company RBS. Over 600 NatWest branches have been shuttered, and a further 350 RBS branches. Statistics like these are why we’re seeing situations like Llandysul, a ‘ghost town’ without any bank branches.

Don’t get us wrong: using technology to improve customer experience is at the core of what Capitalise does. But we also believe that it should be effectively blended with effective, face-to-face interaction. There are times where there’s no substitute for speaking to a human being.

In bank branches’ absence, SMEs have had to make important financial decisions based on limited, poor or no information. The bank manager is M.I.A. In Capitalise’s small business survey, 98% of business owners asked said they had no idea who their bank manager even was.

 

The broad choice for SMEs

SMEs have more choice than ever when it comes to financial products. And that’s a good thing! But only if they are properly supported in making their choices. The bank manager used to be faithful custodian, but that job role has been consigned to the past.

And yet support, advice and exploration of appropriate financial products are more important than ever as financial innovation continues apace.

Who can step in and make this exciting tech-led future work for SMEs? We have our answer: the accountant. Selfie-service and digital banking are fantastic. Let’s eliminate all of the fusty admin that accompanies business banking -- but not at the cost of leaving businesses marooned without proper advice.

Luckily, businesses aren’t alone. Many already have close, rewarding partnerships with their accountants. We don’t need to create a new infrastructure to support SMEs through the lending process. It’s already there, and with Capitalise it can reach its full potential.

Long live the accoutant 

Learn more about how bank branch closes are effecting SMEs and how accountants are filling the void. 

finance
profitability
help
alternative finance
invoice finance
fintech
news
accountant
case study
trade finance
contract finance
working capital
startup loans
refinancing
fashion finance
merchant cash advance
future accountant
product of the month
women in funding
partner of the month
business tips
accountants
accounting
product
forecasting
live session
accountex
2019
capitalise
funding
monitor
ai
international women's day
covid19 coronavirus
corporate finance
accounting firm
m&a
asset finance
hire purchase
businesses
credit score
rls
business funding
business credit score
south africa
business
adviser
small business
business loan
property finance
commercial mortgage
credit imporvement
spring budget 2023
small businesses
spring budget
ccj
inflation
commercial mortgages
trade debtors
cash flow
truck finance
late payments
lorry finance
manufacturing
building a financial safety net
healthcare
trade debtor days
overdraft
bridging loan
credit checks
interest rates
overtrading
templates
balance sheet
construction
bad debt
company credit checks
debt collection
credit control
check company credit
business loans
instant offer
credit scores
credit review service
economy
company credit check
commercial property
revolving credit facility
Follow Us
Sign Up to Receive Updates

Signup to our newsletter

Have insights about the accounting community sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our newsletter.