July 18, 2023 | Stamford, CT — When it comes to digital banking, small business and middle-market companies are not looking for bells and whistles. To win over commercial banking clients, banks should forgo flashy features and focus on delivering digital platforms that are safe and easy to use. 

Three quarters of the business owners and executives taking part in the latest Greenwich Market Pulse cite fraud prevention as the top factor they use in evaluating banks’ digital channels.  After safety, intuitive digital interfaces and effective self-service capabilities rank as companies’ number two and three considerations, respectively. 

“Commercial executives want digital banking to make their lives more convenient, but they understand that security must come first,” says Chris McDonnell, Head of Community, Commercial and Digital Banking at Coalition Greenwich. “They are bottom-line based and want simple and secure tools that help them run their businesses.”

These findings apply similarly to onboarding processes, where almost 70% of commercial executives identify self-service capabilities as an important factor for evaluating a bank’s digital offering. Executives prefer to take control of their onboarding experience, and expect to receive clear instructions and guidance from their banks.

Fast and Mobile Credit Requests 
Once banks master the basics of providing secure and easy-to-use digital platforms, they should turn their attention to other features companies say can differentiate a bank’s offering: mobile applications for credit, and speedy responses on loan requests. 

Approximately 45% of Greenwich Market Pulse participants see the ability to approve financial transactions on credit facilities initiated via mobile devices as an important capability for their banks’ digital platforms. More than three quarters of business owners and executives say the speed of their banks’ responses to loan requests submitted via digital lending platforms plays a big role in shaping their perception of their banks’ digital offerings. 

The recent Greenwich Market Pulse updates the Greenwich Optimism Index, companies’ financing and spending plans, and provides insights into what companies are looking for from their banks in areas like data and analytics, digital banking services and open banking.