Changes Offshore Banks Must Adopt in 2021

2020 has been a year of unexpected events triggering rapid transformation across a myriad of industries, and perhaps none has been hit quite as hard as the banking sector. Before 2020, the banking sector was already seeing some major industry transitions. For instance, financial technology (fintech) was becoming more in demand and companies were working quickly to ensure that they could offer the leading-edge fintech that customers were demanding.

The COVID-19 pandemic, however, changed everything, and all of a sudden, banks were expected to deliver digital means seemingly overnight. When we turn to offshore banking, we can see that these trends have extended to far more than just the traditional domestic bank. Now, we are seeing that offshore banks are working diligently to meet demands set forth to them, but what will 2021 bring?

Analysts have been working to determine the changes offshore banking sector needs to adopt in response to the changes, and in this article, we’re going to discuss a few of the changes experts are telling us to watch out for.

One of the big changes offshore banking and wealth management sector needs to adopt in 2021 is the one we’ve been keeping an eye on for years: digitization. Digitization means that clients have the opportunity to log on anytime and anywhere to take care of their finances.

More Digital Offerings

The banking industry has been seeing for years that consumers are presenting a growing demand for digital offerings. Offshore banks are creating apps for mobile deposits, transfers, and withdrawals, and other transactions. They are creating virtual branches where clients can take care of their financial needs without ever having to step foot in a physical branch.

Of course, this is important in the time of COVID, but these digital offerings are also important in terms of offshore banking, where clients can easily be located anywhere in the world.

Customer Service, 24/7

Another change we’ll be seeing in 2021 is the fact that offshore banks will more heavily concentrate on around the clock availability to better suite to the various needs of clients. With clients coming from all over the world, more offshore banks will provide their service around the clock - anytime, anywhere.

AI

Another realm of digitization that we expect to continuously grow in 2021 is artificial intelligence (AI). Offshore banks have been using chat bots for a while now, but the advances in AI technology is what makes these chat bots smarter. Not only can AI be used in chat bots, but we also see it used in other areas of marketing, sales, and service.

Please bear in mind that AI is just one way to offer a better and more intuitive experience for clients, and in 2021, we expect to see offshore banks up their game when it comes to AI.

Go Branchless or Fully Digital

Empowered by the possibilities presented through digitization, more offshore banks are offering their services through digital means, even fully online.

Generally speaking, though, banks will be keeping the doors to some of their branches and offices open in 2021 to cater to a niche crowd that will need and want to be present to conduct various transactions. Although much of the workforce entailed in offshore banking will likely be moved to virtual and remote work, if they haven’t been already, there will be staff available on site to help clients when needed.

Focus on Security

Tech adoption isn't without its inherited problems. One of those is cybersecurity. It’s anticipated that there will be more security issues largely caused by digitization. Digitized offshore banks need to double down in their effort to secure every transaction, as well as focusing on banking data protection and recovery.

Takeaway

Overall, we think that offshore banks are going to consider to be a beacon of solidarity in the banking sector. In fact, we are already seeing offshore banks rise to the occasion and work to advocate for clients through difficult and unprecedented times.

In 2021, the competition in the banking sector will likely be fierce as many banks are working to get ahead by way of fintech, but the bottom line and perhaps biggest factor will be customer care.

Offshore banks have worked to accommodate their clients for years, and 2021 will be no different. In what we believe will be a rapidly changing environment, we expect that offshore banks and wealth management firms will be working harder than ever to tend to the every need of clients. In this area, we think offshore banks will get ahead of the competition, particularly domestic and traditional banks that will likely move slower in this arena.

If 2021 is anything like the past year, then it’s safe to say that there will be major changes on the horizon, but we believe that the trends indicate that offshore banks are stable and ready to handle the ever changing environment they are in.