TDCX report reveals Know-Your-Customer as fintechs’ key challenge

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 15 (Bernama) -- Almost one in two (49 per cent) financial technologies (fintechs) have identified Know-Your-Customer (KYC) checks as their top challenge, according to the Rethinking Fintech Customer Experiences report launched by TDCX, a digital customer experience (CX) solutions provider for technology and blue-chip companies.

The KYC challenge affects even the most established fintechs, with nearly four in 10 (37 per cent) mature fintechs echoing the sentiment, that could be due to the lack of a uniform global KYC standard and increased financial crime compliance requirements in global sanctions, according to TDCX in a statement.

For example, TDCX observed that the KYC process is hampered when documents such as identity cards are not shared in a consistent manner (photo vs scanned, coloured vs greyscale), resulting in back-and-forth correspondence which sets a poor tone for building good customer relationships.

Other key challenges for fintech leaders that were mentioned in the report were the need to maintain sufficient operating hours, a worldwide client base and the availability of quality, responsive services.

TDCX Chief Client Solutions Officer, Ricart Valvekens said KYC was not only essential for regulatory compliance, it was an unavoidable part of the customer onboarding process which will either lead to a seamless customer experience or a highly frustrating one.

“With the amount of required information for due diligence increasing exponentially over the past few years, fintechs are looking for ways to balance the need to provide their customers with speed and convenience while remaining compliant,” he said.

Fintechs with a business-to-consumer focus found it more challenging to manage KYC (55 per cent) and this was consistent with findings from a separate survey that more consumers abandoned financial service applications due to lengthy forms and excessive personal data requests.

The report also found that only 21 per cent of fintechs use data analytics to support their KYC processes and 35 per cent of them outsource their KYC processes as fintechs were most focused on using data analytics for personalised marketing (55 per cent) and helping customers make financial decisions (40 per cent).

The TDCX Rethinking Fintech Customer Experiences report which surveyed 200 senior fintech executives globally from September to October 2022, aims to understand the latest fintech strategies and challenges regarding customer experience.

-- BERNAMA