Asia-Pacific banks struggling to hyper-personalize — FICO

BANKS in Asia-Pacific are struggling to implement hyper-personalization strategies even as most of them already use predictive analytics as they look to deliver the products and services that their customers need, according to a survey by global analytics software firm FICO.

According to the FICO poll of 30 senior executives and C-suite leaders from Asia-Pacific banks conducted in November 2024, only 11% said their hyper-personalization strategies are highly advanced, even if 88% said they already use predictive analytics to anticipate customer needs.

“Consumers now expect the same level of personalization from their banks as they do from Netflix and Amazon. With most banks still struggling to meet these expectations, those that succeed will gain a decisive edge in a market where customer experience is the ultimate differentiator,” FICO Asia-Pacific Managing Director Dattu Kompella said in a statement.

The majority or 72% of the respondents said among the key barriers to hyper-personalization is the lack of seamless customer engagement in their banks as their communication channels remain siloed or only partially integrated.

“Meanwhile, automation adoption remains uneven. Half of the executives said their organizations had automated no more than half of their customer-facing decisions, including credit approvals, fraud alerts, and personalized offers, hindering personalization efforts,” FICO said.

Asia-Pacific banks’ use of real-time data and advanced analytics remains in its nascent stages, it added.

“While 43% of executives said they leverage real-time data significantly or fully for customer insights in areas such as fraud detection and service, most remain at minimal or moderate adoption,” it said.

“Similarly, just 37% reported extensively or fully predictive use of analytics, underscoring that while adoption is broad, maturity remains limited.”

FICO said banks need to use the data they have across the customer lifecycle to achieve hyper-personalization.

“Every interaction, whether it’s a declined offer, a payment pattern, or a service request, contains valuable insight. By consolidating activities, behaviors, and preferences into a single decisioning platform, banks can act on insights in real-time, driving deeper engagement and loyalty,” Mr. Kompella said.

He said FICO Platform uses applied intelligence to take these data to allow banks to predict their customers’ needs and deliver the appropriate services and products. — A.M.C. Sy