Impact of Disruptive Technologies on Customer Experience Management In ASEAN: A Review

Abstract

The financial services sector in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) region has seen significant growth, driven by digitalization and the rise of fintech firms. Financial services accounted for about 8% of the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at around ${\$}$ 3 Trillion in 2021 [1]. While the GDP contracted slightly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall outlook over the next five years remains positive.To further boost this growth, and foster innovation, regulators across ASEAN are establishing foundations for open finance, as is clear from policies in Singapore [2], the Philippines [3], and Indonesia [4].The main objectives of the open finance framework are to offer integrated financial services by making customer experiences that are fully digital, frictionless, empathetic, and anticipatory to customer needs.Customers today are more digitally empowered, expect personalized service, and often maintain relationships with multiple retail banks. As such, Customer Experience (CX) management is a top priority for retail banks to ensure overall brand recall, customer loyalty, and growth.This however also poses a new challenge to incumbent banks, as they need to embark on complex digital transformation journeys to stay relevant and competitive with due consideration for costs and accrued benefits.In this context, this study explores the impact of cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and digital channels, collectively referred to as disruptive technologies, on customer experience management.It does so by critically examining existing literature on the evolution of digital technologies, their applications for customer engagement and the consequent impact on customer behaviours, and customer experience measures such as the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) and Net Promoter Score (NPS). Based on the review, the study identifies opportunities for future research in the form of research questions, which include factors like experience quality, behaviour traits, and customer segmentation attributes that impact customer experience.The study contributes by providing insights to retail banks on key factors to consider while embarking on digital transformation projects to improve customer experience. While the study focuses on retail banking, its contributions could be beneficial to adjacent financial services like lending and insurance in ASEAN.