The Future of Building Societies is Multi-Channel | Sandstone Technology, The Cambridge and Yorkshire Building Society | The Fintech Show #141

In this episode of the Fintech Show we speak to Trevor Tannenbaum from the Cambridge Building Society, Michelle Yu and Jennifer Harris from Sandstone Technology and Tina Hughes from Yorkshire Building Society to find out how the future of building societies rely on embracing digital channels.

Building societies have a promising future ahead where good customer service entails the use of effective digital channels. As shown by Nationwide’s recent moves to acquire Virgin Money, there’s plenty of potential for this breed of mutually owned financial institutions in the UK. The question is what technology do they need to move forward. 

In this episode of the Fintech Show we spoke to Trevor Tannenbaum from the Cambridge Building Society, Tina Hughes from Yorkshire Building Society and Michelle Yu and Jennifer Harris from Sandstone Technology to find out how building societies are embracing digital channels.

Of course, digital transformation doesn’t always come easily and can be very costly. In the event that something goes wrong, and customers are affected, fines could be handed out, as TSB found out. So it’s understandable that some financial institutions are hesitant about going down this road. But it doesn’t have to be this way and there are numerous strategies for updating your services, without disrupting good customer service. 

Sandstone Technology are perfectly placed to explain how technology can be implemented into the banking and customer experience of those using building societies. In the video above, Sandstone CPO Yu, who we also spoke to in a recent virtual arena, emphasises the importance of digital channels for building societies to stay relevant, whilst Chief Customer Officer Harris explores the challenges they face in adopting new technology.

Harris recognises that moving away from or adapting legacy technology is time consuming. However, as you’ll see, the benefits outweigh the concerns and technology providers like Sandstone ensure that whatever new products or channels you want to add, they integrate seamlessly with the existing stack. 

Multi-channel banking is the way forward

No conversation on this topic would be complete without talking to building societies themselves. We were fortunate to speak to representatives from two of the UK’s premier institutions, Yorkshire Building Society and The Cambridge Building Society. 

In the episode, both Hughes from YBS and Tannenbaum from CBS reveal their respective organisation’s approaches to digital transformation and we hear some success stories that have come about through changes they’ve made. That includes Tannenbaum explaining how their mobile app has become their most popular channel for customers interacting with the bank.

YBS, who now see 70% of new accounts opened online, are an organisation always striving to provide a good digital service, however there are also considerations to be made about striking a balance between in-person and online experiences. Hughes echoes some comments that Yu makes about making sure older demographics are not left behind and are given a good in-store experience that can serve their needs too. 

Ultimately, all our speakers agree that a multi-channel approach that integrates and offers the same level of experience across the board is needed.