Should banks have a Facebook presence? What should they actually offer to customers via Facebook? Should it be informational or dare I say it, transactional? A couple of interesting announcements and feelers have surfaced lately:
A handful of banks have already gone wild on Facebook , a notable example is ICICI.
Is Facebook going to be a viable access point for consumer transactional needs? In my opinion, banks that are enabling or attempting to enable transactions via a Facebook app are barking up the wrong tree. I've seen nothing to suggest that customers want this or would even use this. In fact, I've seen evidence of the contrary. Security concerns are without a doubt the number one issue. Furthermore, most US and Canadian banks have to jump through multiple compliance and legal hoops simply to post basic info on Facebook.
My quick take - banks have so much room to improve across digital channels. Time and money are better spent improving online, mobile, and tablet experiences. Even if banks do go the route of offering Facebook transactional banking apps, they are likely to
suffer the same fate as iGoogle. The web is boundless, and I don't see Facebook as the primary "portal" for transactional banking. Facebook is still primarily about interacting with friends and family. Brands clearly have some sort of home on Facebook, but hey, we all know what the value of a "like" is really worth on Facebook (or do you?). Please chime in. Are Facebook banking apps the future of digital banking?
