Banking
Pandemic Fuels Latest Tech Revolution Bank customers have more options than ever at their fingertips—and more is on the way BY NICK LAMBROW WHEN THE PANDEMIC STRUCK in March 2020, the world froze. Business as usual ceased to exist. Travel halted. Commerce slowed. Schools closed their doors and opened their laptops. Banks, however, were open. M&T Bank branches have remained open throughout the pandemic because our customers need us. What took place during the ensuing weeks and months was predictable, considering the culture shock we were all experiencing: Activity inside bank branches dropped precipitously. At some M&T branches, foot traffic fell by more than half of what was typical before the pandemic began. Meanwhile, online transactions with the bank shot up. More people downloaded the M&T mobile app and visited the bank’s website to conduct their routine transactions such as transferring funds and paying bills. Neither trend was unexpected. Advances in technology and awareness of customers’ changing behaviors were already guiding us toward providing a DELAWARE BUSINESS | Nove m be r/ De ce m be r 2021
more digitally focused experience for our customers. Before the pandemic, we started down a path to alleviate sticking points between bank branches, customer call centers, and our online banking services so our customers could bank with us in ways that were more convenient to them. The pandemic added rocket fuel to the trip we had planned to take. Our customers—in particular, small-business owners struggling to stay in business— needed to interact with us, and they wanted to do it from the safety of their kitchen table or makeshift home office. The pandemic showed us that we had to take the bank to our customers—and we had to do it as quickly, efficiently, and effectively as possible. We couldn’t rely on our customers to seek us out inside a bank branch. 41
