The 21st century isn’t just for the cool kids

Everyone loves their smartphones. We eagerly await new operating system updates. Apple, Samsung and Google are constantly in competition to find the coolest, slickest, most futurist way of performing everyday tasks with new technology, and developing new technology platforms to perform them on. The uptake of some of these technologies is already happening, and it’s inevitable for others.

Increasingly your customers and colleagues are going to expect the same experience from their financial service providers. On mobile, we’re already seeing innovative, beautifully designed, highly visual mobile financial tools from groups like Bloomberg and Mint.com. The banks are coming on board too: every major Canadian bank has an iOS app, and over 3.5 million Canadians use them, out of an estimated 10 million Canadian smartphone owners.

Looking further ahead, Fidelity Investments has been aggressively exploring the use of Google Glass for interacting with personal financial information, and produced a video showing what they’ve done so far. Take a look at this. Others are sure to follow both on Google Glass and on smartwatch platforms further over the horizon.

So what’s the first step to giving your customers the experiences they’ll be expecting in the future? Getting them online in the first place. Products like Ticoon's Consumer Portal can help you service your customers digitally with cutting edge web based experiences. Having them online will also position you to introduce them to mobile as well as other future platforms as they become available and your customers demand them. Online access for your customers is the first step to getting ahead of the curve on financial services technology