Banks focus on customer experience
Synchrony, a U.S. consumer financial services company with over $120 billion in assets, faced a challenge in utilizing its vast customer data to enhance digital experiences. The company had spent decades building relationships through various financial products, resulting in a wealth of customer information. However, when customers interacted with Synchrony’s digital channels, much of this knowledge remained disconnected from their experience.
A prospective customer exploring healthcare financing, for instance, wasn’t necessarily looking for another credit product. The challenge was recognizing what customers needed in that moment and translating years of customer data into an experience that reflected their immediate goals.
Since 2020, Synchrony has worked with Dynamic Yield to tackle this problem. At the time, Dynamic Yield was an independent personalization and decisioning platform that helped banks and brands use customer data and behavioral signals to personalize digital journeys. Mastercard acquired Dynamic Yield in 2022, after announcing the acquisition in late 2021, to advance its broader vision of understanding customer intent and delivering relevant experiences.
Together with Dynamic Yield, Synchrony began combining its customer data with real-time behavioral signals and continuous experimentation to tailor experiences around customer intent. This approach has enabled the company to better understand its customers’ needs and provide more personalized experiences. They focused on customer journeys rather than individual products.
Mastercard’s acquisition of Dynamic Yield reflects the company’s recognition that the future of payments isn’t just about processing transactions, but about helping institutions understand customer intent before a payment, delivering the right experience during it, and building a more relevant relationship long after the transaction is complete. Dynamic Yield has given Mastercard a way to advance this broader vision as industry priorities evolve.
Related: US Companies Expand AI-Native Microsoft Operations
As banks layer AI into their customer experiences, many are grappling with the same challenge Synchrony set out to solve: how to turn years of customer data into a deeper understanding of each customer’s context. This challenge is not unique to Synchrony, and other companies in the industry are likely facing similar issues. It is clear that the tech itself is less important than the problem it was built to solve.
The ability to combine customer data with real-time behavioral signals and continuous experimentation has been key to Synchrony’s success. By focusing on customer journeys rather than individual products, banks can create more personalized and relevant experiences for their customers.
Synchrony’s work with Dynamic Yield has shown that delivering relevant experiences is essential in today’s digital setting. By understanding customer intent and providing personalized experiences, banks can differentiate themselves from competitors and build stronger relationships with their customers.
As the industry continues to evolve, it’s likely that we’ll see more banks adopting this approach and focusing on customer journeys rather than individual products. The Mastercard acquisition of Dynamic Yield has also highlighted the importance of continuous experimentation and innovation in the industry. By combining customer data with real-time behavioral signals, banks can stay ahead of the curve and provide the best possible experiences for their customers, which can be seen in the way AI agents are being used to transform banking operations.
Mastercard’s vision is to understand customer intent and deliver relevant experiences. They aim to help institutions understand customer intent before a payment, deliver the right experience during it, and build a more relevant relationship long after the transaction is complete.
