Banking and security have always gone hand in hand. It’s impossible to imagine a bank without it. But those technologies are also being used to help banks at a business level, improving customer service, among other things.
Banks have been reinventing themselves for a while now, trying to keep up with the way we access our money and other banking services. In fact, according to American Banker magazine, "Banking in 2018 is likely to be characterized by innovation and convenience, which ultimately puts the customer front and center." So, they are turning to technology for help — and one example of this is the application of security devices to help them serve customers.
Banking and security have always gone hand in hand. It’s impossible to imagine a bank without it — after all, why would you entrust your life savings or investments to an institution with no security? Surveillance cameras have long been used here, providing monitoring and real-time coverage of all areas within a bank.
But those technologies are also being used to help banks at a business level, improving customer service, among other things.
Take dispute management, for example. What’s to stop me from going to a cash point and withdrawing money, and then going to the bank and saying “I didn’t withdraw that money”or “I only withdrew 100 euro, but it told me I withdrew 200.”
With clever surveillance, the bank can see the image of the person withdrawing the money and, with data from the ATM system, overlay the transaction information over the footage. The use of wide-angle fisheye cameras and pinhole cameras can give enough information to deal with any dispute. The image of the user can clearly be seen at the same time as the transaction they performed at the ATM, using a network video recorder (NVR).
With the advent of deep learning technology, this can also go further. Analysis of the image data can alert operators to any potential criminal activity. For example, if the camera detects another "face" in the picture (for example, over the shoulder of the person using the ATM), this could indicate a scenario where a second person is trying to see the pin code of the user over their shoulder.
ATMs are seen as high-risk areas, both for fraud and for robbery, since they are often outside on the street and the user is distracted while they make their withdrawal. Cameras can detect unusual behaviour, like a violent action, alerting an operator who could intervene. Even if that’s not possible, it can provide crucial evidence for further investigation.
This benefit also extends to the counters inside the bank. High volumes of financial transactions happen over those counters each day — from signing documents to handing over cash. Here, banks can use high resolution 4K cameras that can deliver high image quality so that details can be seen. This enables anyone investigating a dispute to see the notes and paperwork changing hands, for example.
But how is this customer service? you might ask. Few people want to enter into a dispute and whoever turns out to be in the wrong, most are just happy it was resolved. The works for customer service especially if a dispute turns into a long conversation discussing the "facts" as people remember them. With clear evidence, it can easily be resolved and everyone can move on. And with financial complaints going up*, this is an important trend for banks to pay attention to.
These aren’t the only business benefits to using smart surveillance technology in banking. People counting cameras can help to see how many people are entering, for example, to help plan the day. Queue detection technology means managers can be alerted when a queue gets too long, so they can open another counter. With flow analysis, bank designers can see how people move within the bank and where the "popular" areas are. All this information can help a bank to streamline its business and impact customer satisfaction.
The application of innovative surveillance technology can be an important tool in improving customer service in banks. In an age when the banking sector is struggling with its reputation, customer service is an important area to focus on to help them stay relevant to the 21st century customer.
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*According to the Financial Ombudsman in the U.K., complaints rose by 26 percent between December 2015 and December 2016.