Empowering the Seamless Digital Ecosystem
Complexity is a fast drowning ship…
As customer expectations shift towards convenience, seamless experiences and speed, managing the customer journey becomes increasingly complex. This is particularly true when it comes to software. On average, a mid-sized business uses over 75 pieces of software and works with at least 5 different service providers, just to be able to cover a reasonable customer experience – and even then, they may still have gaps.
This diversification of tools and partners can lead to a fragmented experience for your company and customers; if all the components don’t perfectly align. As has been experienced across various large organisations, particularly in the banking system, for example; at least eight Indian banks — mostly public sector lenders — suffered a high rate of failure in digital transactions during October as online payments surged through the festivities season, data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) shows. The technical failure rate of over 3%, for the second successive month, is leading to widespread concern in the fintech industry as it braces for the full-scale launch of new entrant WhatsApp Pay. These failures, which are classified as technical declines, occur largely due to server downtimes and network issues within the banks. Among large private lenders, Kotak Mahindra Bank had the highest failure rate at 2.36% in October. On the other hand, private sector banks are far better in comparison, with HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank all recording failure rates less than 1%.
This proliferation of tools and providers isn’t necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, it’s necessary to create a good customer experience – it’s impossible for even the largest businesses to do everything themselves. It’s the attempt of building a seamless experience whilst using 75+ tools can unintentionally create silos between teams, and that’s when you have an issue. For a 24/7 payment channel to record elevated failure rates over a prolonged time can lead to a pile-up in debit reversal dues and cause reputational risks, bad word of mouth, and eventually a decrease in use.
For example, live chat is often managed by a single team, while research shows that consumers use this communication channel throughout the customer journey. If different teams use different or disconnected systems, this leads to disconnected data across an organization. If you want to grow, you need a single source of truth – nothing kills growth as much as decentralized systems, which leads teams to make decisions based on different or incomplete data sets.
You can learn to integrate…
Does this mean that you have to use fewer tools, or that you have to instruct different teams to consider using only one tool? No. Removing tools won’t always close the gap between consumer expectations and business complexity – this approach often limits the kind of experience you are trying to build.
The solution lies in integrating your software into one true digital ecosystem. Use a platform that centralizes your data by linking all your different apps and tools. This way your data is consistent across your entire enterprise and different teams can work together, confident that they all have the same view of the customer. This ultimately benefits buyers, which in turn receives a more consistent and superior experience.
… and also to delegate!
A digital ecosystem also makes it easier to scale, because it provides context for service providers. They are often overlooked in the context of integration, or they are ignored because “we can do it all ourselves.” But partners are often the best way to scale quickly. As an old African proverb goes: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”. Sometimes it’s better to hire a band for your party than to learn to play the instrument yourself. Same for companies. Every company has gaps in the customer journey that are sometimes better filled by specialized partners, again, as long as there’s harmony. Nearly 80% of American consumers say that speed, convenience, knowledgeable help, and friendly service are the most important elements of a positive customer experience. Prioritize technologies that provide these benefits rather than adopting new technologies for the sake of being cutting edge!
An ever growing system, no more rigidity!
Not only does a true ecosystem allow you to break down barriers and service your customers better on a day-to-day basis, but it also allows you to respond and pivot in periods of change or crisis. And here’s where expandability plays a huge role. This is because altering your business model or ways of working quickly is virtually impossible when using various pieces of software that don’t integrate well with one another or are only loosely stitched together – you might be able to get everything working in harmony for business as usual, but this falls apart when things come under stress and change is needed.
When there’s a need to open up new revenue streams, having a simple platform with all your data in one place makes it much easier to adapt and change. If that platform has an array of integrations and partners then that only serves to make adapting and growing easier.
This is key for any business that wants to grow better because your ecosystem should be a living, changing system that grows with your business. Say goodbye to silos, to black boxes, to miscommunication between teams. Replace it with an ecosystem that integrates your teams and partners and centralizes your data. As a result, you will meet your customers’ high expectations by creating experiences that they will truly enjoy and remember – and they will reward you for it.
CIT VERICASH Fintech Factory…
With its compiled experience of 25+ years, CIT VERICASH made all the above come true, through many success stories, and adopting several technologies over the years, keeping in mind how to address an already existing IP and make use of it, while enabling an incumbent bank, or a rising fintech or an FI, where “easy configuration” and “rapid time to market” are always key words. CIT VERICASH started with what others have reached and further perfected it to reach the ultimate, seamless digital and financial ecosystem, whether it’s a new startup or an existing one, with CIT VERICASH fintech factory, we know how to address your needs at which stage of business you’ve reached, and at no stage do we ignore what you’ve built, it’s a core, integral part of the solution we offer your business to get the exact dose of jumpstart needed to boost your sales and customer acquisition. VERICASH fintech factory enables business users to make use of the agility of the platform to set all the parameters and risk rules associated with each service and to each customer segment with no need for long times of coding and development. Not to mention allowing any desired 3rd party integrations to other providers. And when it comes to regional expansion, to make use of the already existing powerful VERICASH network across Africa, and building upon the connectivities with different players in the market to avoid unnecessary long integration processes. All that is naturally in addition to how the platform allows for full scalability in terms of services being offered or in terms of regional and market growth.
That said, the comforting part is the innovation department is a bee hive within CIT VERICASH, with the sole purpose of keeping ahead of what a “customer” may need, and here the customer ranges from partners, to end-users…they all matter, and they all contribute to what VERICASH aims to innovate: “a seamless, humane, financially included digital experience across Africa”
About CIT Vericash
CIT VERICASH is a division of CIT GLOBAL, an international leading provider of innovative eCommerce and mCommerce software solutions and services with solid expertise spanning 25 years, since its establishment in Toronto, Canada in 1993. By applying CIT Global’s dedicated centers of excellence and its specialized leading products, in cooperation with its strategic partners, the company has delivered innovative and award-winning solutions to its clients in more than 48 countries, serving leading brands from North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.