Visa looked at customers' experiences of opening an account with a bank and starting to use the account. According to the Visa Consulting &Analytics (VCA) study, there is room for improvement both in the mobile app account opening process and in the bank's efforts to get the customer to start using its offering, which is referred to as “customer activation”.

Although 78 percent of customers successfully pass the account opening stage on the mobile app, many find the process complicated and slow. Only a third succeeded the first time, with identity verification errors being the leading cause of problems. Another area for improvement is the limited early activation features, such as combining the account opening process with instant app activation and the ability to transfer funds to the account immediately.

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In their search for best practices, VCA experts analyzed solutions used by institutions worldwide, including the activation practices of six neobanks focused on user experience. "It turns out that their customers value a seamless account opening process, a fully mobile service, and fast access to the account - often in just a few minutes. Importantly, among the most important neo-banks operating globally, it is the norm to offer virtual cards to customers. At the same time, some Polish banks still do not make them available in a mobile application - even though as many as 39 percent of Polish respondents indicate them as an important solution", says Wojciech Werochowski, director of Visa Consulting & Analytics in Poland.

At the same time, the VCA report shows that Polish respondents are satisfied with the bank's communication with the customer in the first 30 days after account opening. Over half (52 per cent) reported proactive contact from the bank during this period, and a third of all customers say that such actions have encouraged them to use their account more actively. When communicating with the bank, customers expect simple, understandable messages that are not pushy.

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Customer communication is, incidentally, an area in which Polish banks excel compared to institutions in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, which were also included in the Visa Consulting and Analytics CEE Customer Activation Study 2024. Poles also rate payment card functions highly. Of the ten areas analysed, only two perform worse than in other countries in the region: the aforementioned mobile app activation methods and early activation.

Visa recalls that it can provide support in these areas. "Visa Consulting & Analytics helps banks optimise their customer activation processes by analysing market practices, customer experiences, and expectations. Innovative solutions are being developed worldwide, and Visa Consulting & Analytics' role is to use them to support its customers", says Wojciech Werochowski.