- Share to Facebook
- Share to Twitter
- Share to Linkedin
Vice President at Lightico. Proven business leader driving tech in enterprises. Born into Fortune 500s — now building tech companies.
getty
There’s no doubt about it: Cryptocurrencies can no longer be dismissed as a passing trend. Their usage is only growing in popularity. There are currently at least 200 million Bitcoin wallets alone, and 16% of Americans have used or traded Bitcoin. With cryptocurrency as the new currency and crypto wallets as the new banks, financial providers will need to make it easy to onboard crypto customers. To do this, they will want to learn from neobanks and digital-first providers, who have already mastered the art of efficiently and compliantly serving customers.
Four Lessons For Crypto Companies
Crypto wallet companies have a delicate balancing act: On the one hand, they need to onboard as many customers as possible to remain profitable. On the other hand, they need to contend with paperwork requirements for compliance purposes. In this way, the challenges they face are like almost every regular bank.
The difference between regular banks and crypto wallets is that there are fewer established industry norms surrounding the latter. Therefore, crypto companies should emulate the habits of the best neobanks and digital-first institutions, especially given that crypto wallets themselves fall squarely into the digital space by definition. Here are some of the valuable lessons crypto wallets can learn from banks:
1. It’s A Land Grab Out There
There’s a constant influx of new crypto wallets coming in, all based on the blockchain. All of them are competing for new customers who are shopping around for the right crypto wallet. Many of these customers have no previous brand loyalty, as the world of crypto is still relatively new. By capturing new market share and establishing a reputation for ease of use, these providers can lock in loyalty for the years to come. Now is the time for crypto wallets to set themselves apart from the pack.
MORE FROMFORBES ADVISORBest Travel Insurance Companies
ByAmy DaniseEditorBest Covid-19 Travel Insurance Plans
ByAmy DaniseEditor2. Fast Onboarding Is Crucial
It’s true that crypto providers are now increasingly being held accountable to AML regulations, just like banks. And much like banks, they need to find a way to stay compliant without sacrificing the speed and efficiency of their onboarding. A crypto wallet company that succumbs to paperwork and bureaucracy will find itself losing potential investors. Some crypto wallet providers, such as BRD and Lumi, don’t even require registration or maintaining an account.
The good news is that there are plenty of digital customer onboarding solutions out there, such as remote ID verification, digital document collection, and eForms that both expedite onboarding and ensure compliance with features such as timestamps and vaulting.
3. Customers Have A Need For Speed
It’s not just onboarding that needs to be fast and seamless. Once customers have onboarded, crypto wallets need to be easy to access and use from any device. With more and more users preferring to trade on their smartphones, a mobile-first crypto wallet will be sure to reach customers where they are. Hot wallets, used for online storage, are a popular choice for many mainstream crypto users. If the crypto wallet in question is in fact a hot wallet, it should be built for impatient, instant gratification-seeking traders. Everything from security checks to form filling to customer support should be built around the mobile device.
4. Tech Is The Enabler
Given that crypto wallets are digital natives, there is simply no place for non-digital processes. Ideally, crypto wallets will provide the same level of service across all digital channels, whether the investor is accessing it from a desktop, mobile phone or tablet. An end-to-end digital platform that includes digital KYC, forms, documents and eSignatures ensures a unified journey.
Four Best Practices For Crypto Wallets
Crypto wallets that are eager to stay competitive just need to make a few tweaks to their operations. Here are the top ones:
1. Create Automated Workflows
While most crypto wallets include technological elements, the most effective ones will provide a unified workflow for customers. From the moment of onboarding to the trading platform itself to ongoing support, customers should feel a sense of coherence. To maximize this, crypto wallets should harness an automated workflow that triggers next steps based on customer actions and responses. Automation in crypto is fast-growing for onboarding and trading.
2. Don’t Forget The Human Factor
Despite all the technological innovation surrounding crypto wallets, providers should still leave room for human input. Call center agents can be helpful resources and guide customers through the more complex parts of onboarding and trading. Of course, needless complexity can still be eliminated with technological customer-facing solutions.
3. Collect And Embrace Customer Feedback
Crypto wallets should constantly scan customer reviews, which are perhaps the most honest source of feedback. The average crypto user is a young male between the ages of 18 and 29 — an age group that is eager and accustomed to providing feedback. Regularly surveying users and analyzing the responses can allow crypto wallets to really tailor the experience.
4. Stay On Top Of Compliance
While crypto wallets still have less rigid AML protocols to follow, this is slowly starting to change. Providers should stay up to date on the latest compliance regulations, as they are constantly changing and differ between jurisdictions. As crypto grows in popularity, we can expect to see more formal oversight. The last thing a crypto wallet provider wants is to lose customers (or get shut down) due to compliance lapses.
The Bottom Line
Money is being squandered due to crypto wallets that are too cumbersome for mainstream users to use. In order to attract the growing number of crypto hobbyists rather than just specialists, providers will need to create delightful and intuitive journeys — from the moment of onboarding to the ongoing user experience.
Junyuan Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
Junyuan bags
Ten articles before and after
Hack The Planet: How This Hacker Unlocked A $2 Million Crypto Wallet
Oil Market Shows Optimistic Outlook For Energy Crisis
E-Commerce Company Copia Global Isn’t Building The ‘Amazon For Africa’
Ukraine Demonstrates That Cryptocurrency Is A Potent Tool For Marshaling Grassroots Support
IMF Believes In Bitcoin Wallet For El Salvador But Not Legal Tender Status
Treasury Has Self-Hosted Wallets And Adding Crypto To BSA On 2022 Agenda
Samsung’s Soundbar Deal Gets You Vastly Improved TV Audio Under $500
Mobile/What's App/Wechat
E-Mail
ADD
