How to Cater to the Human Element of Banking

 

During the pandemic, customers found it critical to adopt online banking solutions. As a result, innovations accelerated in the banking industry.

Now, technology is drivingnew trends in digital banking behaviors from customers who expect their online experience to match their in-branch experience.

So, how do banks and credit unions maintain the human element in theironline banking experiences and turn a business feature into a differentiator? Nick Barnes, Practice Director for Financial Services at JRNI, and Thomas Novak, Vice President and Chief Digital Officer for Visions Federal Credit Union, provided some insights.

“First and foremost, banks need to consider the emotional impact of their engagements with customers,” Barnes said. “From a digital standpoint, consumers demand more today than just speed and ease-of-access. They want to feel good about their interactions with technology, which requires an element of human connection. Banks can deliver meaningful, powerful, personalized experiences by using their existing data and everyday customer touchpoints.”

One keyword that Novak said Visions Federal Credit Union focuses on is empathy. “It all starts for us with the North Star, which is how do we put digital-first experiences out there for our members so that we can empower them towards financial independence? That’s how we’re going to blend the human and the digital aspect.”

Another critical focus for Novak and Visions is blending the digital and physical sides of banking seamlessly to make it intuitive for their members. No matter how they choose to do their banking, it’s an easy process. “Taking that approach to really think through how a member might go through a particular journey is central to that empathy and helps us build digital experiences that enable the fostering of empathy and improving the member experience.”

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

Physician
Fixing the Physician Experience: Why Advocacy Is Healthcare’s Next Frontier
March 25, 2026

Physician burnout has become a defining challenge in healthcare, with research showing that a substantial portion of clinicians—anywhere from roughly a quarter to over half—experience emotional exhaustion, driven more by systemic pressures like administrative burden and reduced autonomy than by individual resilience alone. As healthcare systems face growing staffing shortages and rising patient demand, the…

Read More
career
From Starting Over In A New Country To Reaching The C-Suite: A CFO’s Career Comeback
March 25, 2026

Global mobility is reshaping the modern workforce, with millions of professionals relocating each year in pursuit of opportunity, stability, or growth. Yet behind the headlines of talent migration lies a quieter, more difficult truth: restarting a career from scratch—even after years of success—is far more common than people expect. In fact, many skilled immigrants…

Read More
AI in school
How AI is Changing the Safeguarding Landscape
March 24, 2026

This episode of “Safeguarding in Focus,” hosted by Sam Eustace, features Lucie Welch, an expert in primary education and safeguarding from Services for Education. The discussion centers on how AI is transforming the safeguarding landscape in schools, exploring both the risks and opportunities presented by this rapidly evolving technology. Key takeaways: Schools must address…

Read More
skilled trades mentorship
Why Leadership Without Humanity Is Failing Today’s Workplace
March 24, 2026

As the world faces historic labor shortages, an increase in burnout, and record-high turnover, organizations are confronting a leadership reckoning. In May 2024, Gallup found that more than 50 percent of U.S. employees were actively searching for new jobs or watching for openings. Taken together, these trends signal a clear and growing breakdown in…

Read More