SigFig and JRNI: Transforming bank and credit union appointments through needs-centric conversations

Across the country, banks and credit unions saw a surge in scheduled customer appointments during the pandemic. Because of this rise in demand for appointments, JRNI prioritized building technology platforms to help bankers, “be available anywhere, anytime, and from any device,” focusing especially on enabling more remote appointments given lockdown-imposed branch closures.

Both financial institutions and their customers enjoyed major benefits from this shift toward more predictability and structure in banking interactions, and most institutions have only doubled-down on scaling their efforts since lockdowns have eased. The logic isn’t surprising: easily-scheduled appointments cut down on waiting times, allowing both customers and bankers to reclaim precious time in their days.

But what happens between when an appointment is scheduled and when a customer actually sits down with a banker, mortgage officer, financial advisor, or other specialist? Historically, not much, other than waiting, and maybe a confirmation email. Enter SigFig, a new product partner with JRNI, that aims to bridge this common gap in customer experience.

SigFig builds a digital needs discovery and pre-appointment engagement product called SigFig Discover, with the goal of better equipping bankers with customer data and needs-based profiles before an appointment even starts. SigFig’s partners have found using SigFig Discover that customers have 5.6 average unmet financial needs at any point in time--often related to retirement planning, home ownership, and emergency savings. As a result, SigFig partners have seen on average a 7X lift in specialist referrals, driving expansion in wallet share and deeper customer loyalty across multiple lines of business.

The JRNI and SigFig partnership is a natural fit. “Working with a partner like JRNI that builds innovative technology to help engage customers and set qualified appointments for bankers was a no-brainer for us,” says Sean Tynan, Head of the Discover product vertical at SigFig.

As fellow digital innovators helping financial institutions adapt to a tech-first and increasingly remote environment, JRNI and SigFig are keen on helping banks to transform digital and remote channels into long-term revenue and growth drivers. Branch traffic has long been declining, a trend accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic. As branch visits went down, so did opportunities to engage customers in richer and deeper interactions that might have built stronger relationships and uncovered additional needs.

Even when people come back into branches, most will expect (or at least appreciate) a more efficient experience, with some digital pre-work and asynchronous follow-up to make that 10-minute meeting worth what might be a 30-minute trip to get there. Banks need to better understand their customers outside their branches and deliver advice wherever, however, and whenever is best for the customer.

The new JRNI and SigFig partnership helps financial institutions in the short-term, whether meeting with customers in-person, in-branch, or engaging out of branch. But the partnership, according to Tynan at SigFig, “offers even greater long-term value to banks and credit unions, as more and more banking activities shift to remote channels.” The combination of engaged customers and prepared bankers sets up financial institutions for stronger growth, while also enabling customers to receive more helpful service, advice, and guidance.

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