If everyday banking issues have simple solutions, most customers prefer to handle them independently.
Today’s digital banks recognize this preference and adopt advanced financial technology to offer always-on support. Their self-service platforms are built around knowledge repositories that allow customers to fix common online banking issues, whether it’s 2 PM or 2 AM.
Let’s explore how knowledge base portals are reshaping self-service banking support, their impact on the financial sector, and how to build an efficient one.
Key Challenges in Today’s Digital Banking Support
1. Common Issues
- Fragmented Information
When support data is scattered across disconnected channels, customers are likely to:
- Spend too much time piecing together information from different sources
- Come across contradictory responses to the same digital banking questions
- Have trouble working out which solution best addresses their present-day situation
- Escalating Support Costs
End-users lacking effective banking support options rely too heavily on customer service reps even for minor issues. If support agents are tied up with low-complexity queries, customers with more urgent human-assisted support needs may wait longer for help.
As ticket volume grows, so do the overall support costs, as more specialized staff will need to be hired to handle the extra work.
- Delayed Responses
Knowledge base portals make online banking assistance fast and convenient, enabling customers to skip lengthy support queues, find quick answers to routine questions, and resolve issues without delay.
Without this resource, solving everyday banking problems often takes longer than it should due to delayed access to information.
2. Consequences of Poorly Documented Support
- Low Customer Satisfaction
Vague, incomplete, and outdated internal knowledge often leads to inefficient customer support resources, making it challenging for users to find the help they need.
When end-users can’t quickly resolve common queries through self-service, it can greatly affect their satisfaction with digital banking services. Some might even begin to doubt whether the bank can offer adequate service for more intricate problems that need human intervention.
- Declining Customer Retention
Customers who struggle to understand digital banking products, services, and processes, or those unable to quickly resolve their issues, may question the bank’s overall competence. A poor service experience could drive end-users to switch to competitors who provide better support.
Plus, dissatisfied customers will share their negative experiences with others, potentially driving away new clients.
- Unhappy and Underperforming Support Staff
Support staff feel overwhelmed when they’re constantly flooded with repetitive questions that could be easily answered by public knowledge bases. Plus, when agents don’t have useful instructions in their internal resources, they’re not equipped to assist users effectively. They may not know how or when to direct end-users to self-guided resources. As a result, customers might be less likely to self-serve.
Inadequate documentation also means employee onboarding and training take longer than necessary.
Knowledge Base Portals: The Solution to Digital Banking Support Challenges
1. How centralized knowledge bases facilitate instant support responses
Support materials should all be gathered in one easy-to-find hub. Otherwise, customers might struggle to get quick, context-specific support right when they need it.
Centralized self-service knowledge bases help bring together key information (e.g., FAQs, user guides, or troubleshooting advice) to provide rapid and accurate answers to common end-user queries.
Modern platforms enable teams and partners to collaborate either in real time or asynchronously to keep all content organized within a shared workspace.
2. How knowledge base portals are used in real-world self-service banking support
- Frequently Asked Questions
A knowledge base is a library of informative documents aimed at answering frequent user questions. These articles typically focus on basic queries, such as product features, technical specifications, and usage practices.
The goal is to give end-users direct and concise information to become autonomous.
✅ TalkChief, a business phone communication platform, has published an intuitive customer-facing knowledge base portal. This resource features dynamic FAQ content that makes it easy for their end-users to access the information they need—anytime, anywhere.
- Troubleshooting Issues
From login to system compatibility problems, knowledge repositories allow end-users to resolve daily challenges with their online banking portals. Users can access diagnostic guides, lists of common errors with straightforward explanations, and easy-to-follow instructions for fixing frequently encountered problems.
Some knowledge bases also offer scenario-specific troubleshooting recommendations to make self-service resolution even simpler.
✅ Title21 is a software company that offers real-time help information to their customers. This empowers users to troubleshoot issues all by themselves and lower the daily volume of support inquiries.
- Guiding End-Users Through Complex Banking Processes
Branchless banking operations can be quite intimidating, especially when they go beyond the basics. Knowledge base content makes this information more accessible by helping:
- Adapt data complexity to suit various expertise levels
- Filter content around specific topics to avoid information overload
- Simplify intricate financial procedures with visual guidance
✅ The accounting platform Xenett enhanced customer onboarding by building a user-friendly public knowledge base with Archbee. Several of our other customers continue to streamline information access through centralized knowledge systems.
How Knowledge Base Repositories Benefit Financial Institutions
1. Improved Support Efficiency
Self-service portals supported by knowledge base resources allow thousands of end-users to fix their issues independently and at the same time. This helps reduce the volume of support tickets that agents receive.
In fact, expert analysis indicates that self-service decreases customer support calls by tens of thousands each month.
So, by standardizing public access to knowledge, digital banks can process more daily customer queries in less time while maintaining high levels of support quality. Simultaneously, support teams are able to focus on resolving issues and engineering custom solutions for high-ARR, best-fit, or high-priority clients.
2. Enhanced Customer Experience
Easy-to-find tutorials with relevant information help end-users resolve their concerns with minimal friction.
Many platforms today create instantly responsive support ecosystems by including smart AI support and community portals that surface real-time answers and prevent issues from escalating.
💡 Remember: A digital bank’s knowledge base is the primary (and sometimes the only) touchpoint for customer interactions. This makes support a key part of the overall customer experience.
3. Greater Operational Savings
By reducing the burden of repetitive support tasks, knowledge bases help digital banks:
- Reduce staffing costs linked to customer support
- Redirect human resources toward strategic and innovative projects
Financial technology will continue to advance, possibly introducing more sophisticated services. Even so, knowledge base libraries can still provide efficient self-service solutions without requiring additional staff or increased overhead.
Proven Knowledge Base Impact in Self-Service Banking Support
1. Self-Service Adoption Is On the Rise
In the U.S., the number of digital banking users is expected to increase from over 52 million in 2023 to 80 million by 2028. Similarly, in Europe, internet banking usage was at 63.87% in late 2023 and continues to rise. These users typically seek help using the support options integrated into their mobile apps or web portals.
The shift toward self-service is undeniable when looking at the numbers:
- Self-service adoption among financial services customers has increased by 5.4 times
- More than 50% of financial customer inquiries are resolved through interactive self-service features
- 23% of Gen Z customers choose financial institutions based on self-service banking convenience
- Conversational AI tools in banking, financial services, and insurance sectors autonomously manage 97% of customer interactions
Given that 87% of customers use their bank’s app at least once a month, it’s evident that fully automated and convenient banking options (such as self-service) are highly favored by end-users and will continue to gain traction.
2. Customer Preferences for Self-Service Support
91% of customers prefer to self-serve through a knowledge base, as long as it gives them the right information right away.
If service is slow, customers might switch to a different financial institution. This is one of the reasons why global financial technology companies with a built-in focus on efficient self-service solutions are seeing their customer bases grow rapidly.
However, successful self-service isn’t just about quick access; it also requires practical customer-centric resources that facilitate problem-solving at any time of the day. If users need human assistance, their interaction history should be passed on to the live agent so they can get help faster.
3. Performance Metrics for Knowledge Base Adoption
Knowledge Base Utilization
Digital banks need to know how customers use their self-service tools, how often support resources are used, and when to improve underperforming content. Archbee’s analytics suite is designed to help with this.
The Insights tab monitors user engagement across all published knowledge bases. For instance, the Traffic section provides a summary of visitor activity on the portal, including metrics like total views, unique visits, and bounce rates.
Search analytics capture every query entered in a published knowledge base article. This helps identify the specific information visitors are actively seeking as well as their intentions.
Banks can also track all past queries made through the Ask AI feature, including the user’s question, the AI’s response, and user ratings of that reply via up and down votes.
Support Ticket Reduction
The simplest way to assess a knowledge base’s effectiveness is to compare the number of support requests submitted before and after it launches. A drop in incoming tickets suggests that customers are likely finding solutions on their own.
Digital banks can also run a knowledge base analysis within a specific time (e.g., 1-3 months) to:
- Monitor the number of tickets submitted on topics already addressed in the knowledge base portal
- Estimate the volume of potential support tickets that were prevented by high-traffic knowledge base articles
Customer Effort Score
To optimize support delivery, digital banks should understand how easy or difficult it is for customers to resolve issues through their knowledge base guides. The best way to find out is to ask them directly after they finish reading an article (e.g., did you find what you were looking for?).
Archbee’s integration with Typeform allows financial institutions to embed surveys right into their knowledge bases. This way, customers share real-time feedback on their experiences without having to leave the portal.
Best Practices for Building an Effective Knowledge Base Portal
1. Structuring Content for Better Accessibility and Clarity
Tutorials, FAQs, or other support materials in a knowledge base should be specific, direct, and easy to follow. Key strategies to achieve this include:
- Using tabs, expandable headings, and pre-formatted templates to structure information for improved readability
- Breaking down step-by-step instructions into bullet points or numbered lists for easy skimming
- Maintaining consistent formatting, tone, and writing style throughout all articles
- Adding links to related resources within the knowledge base for rapid access to more helpful information
- Incorporating images, videos, and other multimedia elements to demonstrate processes visually
Yet information is only useful if customers can actually find it. Digital banks should improve discoverability by optimizing their knowledge base content for search engines.
2. Integrating Search and Categorization Features for Improved Usability
A public knowledge base must deliver immediate answers to end-user queries through:
- Intelligent search ➜ Archbee’s Ask AI instantly fetches the exact information users need from the digital bank’s knowledge base, so they no longer have to scroll through multiple articles.
- Effective categorization ➜ Grouping knowledge base articles into folder-like document categories makes them easier to navigate. Digital banks can also create targeted self-service experiences through role-based content categorization.
All users should be able to effortlessly find digital banking answers, without having to learn how to use a complicated self-service support tool.
3. Keeping Information Relevant and Accurate with Regular Updates
To offer reliable customer support, digital banks should maintain a highly accurate knowledge base library. This involves:
- Frequently reviewing and refreshing existing content
- Quickly incorporating new information to reflect any updates or changes
Knowledge base platforms that feature tags, mentions, and automatic notifications keep everyone informed and aligned with the latest information. Plus, advanced tools like Write Assist help create, summarize, and proofread content quickly, especially when urgent changes are needed.
Digital banks have full control over the visibility of their information. They can determine which content should be publicly accessible and what stays confidential or restricted to internal teams.
Conclusion
Modern financial institutions recognize the growing demand for always-available self-help solutions. By providing 24/7 access to relevant self-service resources, the digital banking sector not only alleviates the pressure on call centers but also meets customer preferences for managing routine issues independently.
Knowledge base tutorials, guides, and how-to articles are key resources that enable digital banks to provide round-the-clock support.
Join industry-leading digital banks that build their knowledge base portals with Archbee to offer exceptional self-service experiences. Effortlessly create, collaborate on, and distribute help content that instantly answers customer questions.
