Commercial banking is at a pivotal moment. As digital disruption accelerates, the sector faces mounting pressure from both nimble challenger banks and evolving client expectations. The imperative is clear: commercial banks must reimagine customer experience (CX) to remain relevant, competitive, and profitable. This transformation is not just about adopting new technologies—it’s about fundamentally shifting from product-centric to customer-centric models, unifying data, and leveraging AI and agile operating models to deliver seamless, personalized experiences for diverse business clients.
Unlike retail banking, commercial banking serves a highly heterogeneous client base, ranging from sole proprietors to large multinational corporations. Each segment brings distinct needs, regulatory requirements, and expectations for service. Historically, commercial banks have relied on relationship managers and bespoke, often negotiable, products. This has led to fragmented systems and processes, making it difficult to deliver the kind of frictionless, digital-first experiences that are now standard in other industries.
Recent research shows that while 82% of commercial banking executives track customer experience metrics, and most are confident in their capabilities, the reality is more nuanced. Challenger banks and neobanks are setting new standards for digital CX, particularly in the SME segment, and are rapidly gaining market share. In the UK, for example, challenger and specialist banks now account for the majority of gross lending to smaller businesses, a testament to the power of digital-first, customer-centric approaches.
Traditional commercial banks have long been organized around products, with siloed systems and teams. This structure leads to several pain points:
The future belongs to banks that organize around customer needs, not products. In a customer-centric model, banks use unified data and intelligent analytics to anticipate client needs, deliver proactive advice, and provide consistent experiences across all channels and segments. This approach not only deepens relationships and loyalty but also unlocks new revenue streams and operational efficiencies.
One of the most significant opportunities in commercial banking is embedded finance—the integration of banking services directly into clients’ business processes and platforms. This could mean offering payments, working capital, or trade finance solutions within a client’s ERP or marketplace, creating seamless, value-added experiences for both the client and their customers.
However, rolling out embedded finance is complex. Banks must integrate with a wide variety of client systems, manage data security and privacy, and often rethink internal ownership and distribution models. Success requires flexible, API-driven architectures and cross-functional teams that can bridge technology, operations, and customer experience.
At the heart of CX transformation is data. Commercial banks have vast amounts of customer data, but it is often scattered across product systems, channels, and business units. This fragmentation hampers efforts to personalize experiences, automate processes, and generate actionable insights.
Leading banks are investing in cloud-based, coreless architectures that decouple data from legacy systems, making it accessible and actionable across the enterprise. Unified data platforms enable:
AI is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of commercial banking transformation. From automating routine tasks to powering advanced analytics and conversational interfaces, AI enables banks to scale personalization and efficiency. However, realizing this potential requires high-quality, accessible data and robust governance to ensure security, privacy, and compliance.
Organizational transformation is as critical as technological change. To deliver on the promise of customer-centricity, banks must move away from rigid, hierarchical structures toward agile, cross-functional teams. These teams bring together expertise in technology, data, operations, and CX, enabling faster innovation and more responsive service.
Yet, only a minority of commercial banks report having fully agile operating models. Many are still in the early stages, with agility often limited to pockets of the organization. Overcoming this requires leadership commitment, new funding models that support iterative delivery, and a culture that values experimentation and continuous learning.
To succeed in the new era of commercial banking, institutions should focus on several key building blocks:
Commercial banking is undergoing a profound transformation. The winners will be those that move decisively from product-centric to customer-centric models, unify and activate their data, and leverage AI and agile ways of working to deliver seamless, personalized experiences. By doing so, banks can deepen client relationships, unlock new sources of value, and secure their place in the rapidly evolving financial landscape.
At Publicis Sapient, we partner with commercial banks to navigate this complexity, drawing on deep industry expertise and proven methodologies to accelerate digital business transformation. Now is the time for bold action—because in commercial banking, the future belongs to those who put the customer at the center of everything they do.