Commercial banking is at a pivotal crossroads. As digital-first challengers and evolving customer expectations reshape the landscape, commercial banks are under mounting pressure to move beyond product-centric models and deliver truly customer-centric experiences. The journey is complex, but the rewards—deeper client relationships, increased loyalty, and new revenue streams—are significant for those who get it right. This page explores the unique challenges and opportunities facing commercial banks as they pursue digital transformation and customer experience (CX) innovation, and highlights the technologies and organizational shifts shaping the sector’s future.
Historically, commercial banks have operated in product silos, with relationship managers selling individual products based on their own expertise and incentives. This approach often leads to fragmented customer experiences, disconnected digital channels, and slow, repetitive onboarding processes. As a result, clients—especially as they grow and move between segments—can feel as if they are switching banks entirely, facing new systems, new contacts, and a loss of relationship history.
Today, the imperative is clear: commercial banks must organize around customer needs, not just products. This means proactively using data to understand each client’s unique situation, offering relevant solutions, and ensuring consistency across every touchpoint—whether digital or human. In a customer-centric model, banks become trusted advisors and problem solvers, not just product providers. This shift is not only about improving satisfaction; it’s about driving engagement, loyalty, and long-term growth.
Central to this transformation is the ability to unify and leverage data. Commercial banks are increasingly focused on combining data from multiple sources—internal systems, third-party platforms, and customer interactions—to build a richer, more actionable understanding of their clients. High-quality, accessible data enables:
However, legacy technology and siloed data remain significant hurdles. Many banks struggle with inconsistent data taxonomies, fragmented systems, and privacy or security concerns. Overcoming these challenges requires investment in modern, cloud-based, coreless architectures that decouple data from product and channel silos, making it accessible across the organization and to ecosystem partners.
Unlike retail banking, commercial banking serves a highly heterogeneous client base—from sole proprietors to large corporates—each with unique needs, legal structures, and regulatory requirements. This diversity makes it difficult to standardize digital journeys. For example, onboarding a small business may resemble a retail process, but onboarding a large corporate involves complex KYC, AML, and permissions capture, often spanning multiple products and geographies.
Blending seamless digital experiences with the high-touch, relationship-driven service that commercial clients expect is a major challenge. Most banks’ systems do not allow relationship managers to intervene in digital journeys or provide a unified view of client activity. Achieving this integration is essential for delivering the “moments of truth” that build trust and loyalty.
True digital transformation in commercial banking is as much about people and culture as it is about technology. Banks must break down product and functional silos, fostering cross-functional teams that bring together expertise in technology, data, operations, and customer experience. Yet, only a minority of commercial banks report having fully agile, collaborative operating models. Many still rely on traditional hierarchies and funding models that inhibit rapid innovation and adaptation.
Leadership must champion a culture of experimentation, continuous learning, and customer obsession. Flexible funding models—such as outcome-based, quarterly drawdowns—can support both long-term initiatives and the ability to pivot quickly as market conditions change.
Several technology trends are redefining what’s possible in commercial banking:
To succeed in this new era, commercial banks should:
Commercial banking’s digital transformation is both a challenge and an opportunity. The sector’s complexity—diverse clients, legacy systems, and regulatory demands—makes change difficult, but also creates space for bold innovation. By shifting from product-centric to customer-centric models, investing in advanced data and technology platforms, and fostering cross-functional leadership, commercial banks can deliver the seamless, personalized experiences that today’s clients expect. Embedded finance, AI, and coreless architectures are not just buzzwords—they are the building blocks of the next generation of commercial banking. Now is the time for banks to act, or risk being left behind by more agile, customer-focused competitors.
Learn more about how Publicis Sapient partners with leading commercial banks to accelerate digital transformation and customer experience innovation.