When it comes to digital banking, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Consumer expectations for seamless, fast, and secure experiences have reached an all-time high.
Yet, as Cisco’s latest study reveals, a staggering 88% of users reported app performance issues in just the past year.
The consequences? Frustration, lost loyalty, and increased operational costs as dissatisfied users turn to more resource-heavy alternatives like physical branches or call centers.
Our founder, Rajender Gandotra, recently shared his insights on this critical issue in a LinkedIn post.
He highlighted the overlooked financial impact of poor app performance, emphasizing how it directly disrupts banks’ digital transformation journeys.
As Rajender pointed out, “If ensuring superior application performance isn’t a solid financial driver, I don’t know what is!”
Banks today face an uphill battle against mounting consumer demands, rising costs, and the relentless need for innovation.
But challenges also bring opportunities. By tackling these issues head-on, banks can not only retain their tech-savvy customers but also achieve a more efficient and profitable digital transformation.
In this article, we explore the five most pressing challenges of digital transformation in banking and practical solutions to overcome them.
5 Challenges of Digital Transformation in Banking
1. Soaring Consumer Expectations for Apps
The Challenge:
Today’s banking customers expect apps to deliver speed, reliability, and convenience every time.
According to Cisco, 66% expect exceptional performance as the default standard, leaving no room for error.
A single glitch can drive users away and tarnish trust.
The Solution:
To meet these expectations, banks must adopt proactive performance engineering. This involves using Application Performance Monitoring (APM) tools to detect and resolve issues in real time.
Early integration of performance testing during development also ensures apps can handle peak loads effortlessly.
At Avekshaa, our P-A-S-S™ Assurance Platform streamlines this process, ensuring apps are optimized for performance, availability, and scalability from the start.
This proactive approach eliminates surprises and accelerates time-to-market for critical applications.
2. Managing Poor App Performance
The Challenge:
Performance issues aren’t just frustrating—they’re costly.
Cisco found that 77% of users uninstall apps that underperform, forcing banks to rely on costlier options like call centers or branches.
This shift impacts operational budgets and disrupts customer relationships.
The Solution:
Banks need to implement full-stack observability to monitor every layer of their app environment. This helps identify and resolve bottlenecks before they escalate.
Using predictive analytics tools also allows banks to anticipate potential failures and address them proactively.
Avekshaa’s expertise in production performance troubleshooting has enabled businesses to rapidly diagnose and resolve app issues, minimizing downtime and maintaining user trust.
3. Retaining the “Application Generation”
The Challenge:
The 18–34 demographic, also known as “The Application Generation,” is incredibly demanding. They use an average of 41 apps a month but only stick with the best.
If an app isn’t fast or intuitive, it’s abandoned without a second thought.
The Solution:
Banks can retain this group by leveraging AI-driven insights to deliver highly personalized experiences.
Regular usability testing ensures apps remain relevant and user-friendly. Simplicity in design is also key—streamlined interfaces reduce frustration and keep users engaged.
Avekshaa’s digital experience monitoring solutions continuously optimize app performance, ensuring banks provide the seamless, reliable experiences this audience demands.
4. Rising Operational Costs from Channel Switching
The Challenge:
When apps fail, users turn to high-cost channels like call centers or physical branches. This shift not only strains resources but also undermines the cost-efficiency of digital transformation.
The Solution:
Developing an omnichannel strategy helps integrate digital and physical channels, allowing customers to resolve issues without significant friction.
AI-powered chatbots and automated self-service tools can further reduce reliance on manual support.
Avekshaa’s site reliability engineering services ensure that digital systems are robust and scalable, reducing the likelihood of failures and minimizing operational costs.
5. Eliminating App Clutter Without Losing Users
The Challenge:
Users are increasingly selective about the apps they keep. Cisco reports that 68% actively reduce app clutter, deleting those that don’t deliver consistent value.
The Solution:
Banks must focus on delivering core value through essential features and intuitive design. Monitoring user behavior allows for targeted updates, ensuring the app evolves with customer needs.
By combining performance testing and deep root cause analysis, Avekshaa enables banks to refine app functionality without compromising speed or reliability.
This keeps apps lightweight and impactful, ensuring they remain a staple on users’ devices.
Conclusion: Turning Challenges into Opportunities with Proven Solutions
Digital transformation in banking isn’t just about adopting new technology—it’s about meeting rising customer expectations, avoiding costly disruptions, and staying competitive in a fast-changing market.
But let’s face it: the journey is riddled with challenges.
Customers demand flawless app performance. Operational costs spiral when frustrated users turn to branches or call centers. And let’s not forget the sheer complexity of scaling systems to handle growing transaction volumes.
It’s a tough road, but these challenges don’t have to define the outcome.
At Avekshaa, we’ve seen these challenges up close.
Take the case of a leading bank facing crippling performance issues across 3,000 branches and 10,000 ATMs. Our intervention didn’t just stabilize their systems—it transformed their productivity. Or consider how we enabled another client’s payment gateway to achieve a 500% scalability improvement, allowing them to handle a fivefold increase in transaction volumes effortlessly.
What’s the secret? Proactive performance engineering.
By addressing Performance, Availability, and Scalability (P-A-S) failures before they impact operations, we ensure systems are built to thrive under pressure.
If your bank is struggling with underperforming apps, scalability bottlenecks, or migration risks, know that there’s a way forward.
At Avekshaa, we don’t just fix problems; we future-proof your business. If you’re ready to turn your digital challenges into opportunities, talk to our experts today.