Below is my response to an assignment associated with the online course, The Digital Marketing Revolution, by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It was an intriguing chance to use a practical case to illustrate the idea of digital dominance.
Assignment Purpose.
This assignment is intended to provide students with the chance to use a practical example to apply the idea of digital dominance.
Assignment Specifics.
Answer the following inquiries:
- What are the causes that have made the digitization of money so simple?
- What fresh digital innovations may a financial institution like a credit union create to improve its operations?
- What did you discover about digital dominance from this case?
Response
Deliverable 1: The ease of digitizing money.
Trust in technology brands is a major factor. The greatest innovation that technology has given people is the ability to make information more efficient and readily available. Paper money is a physical way to convey that a fair exchange or trade has been completed. The fact that money conveys information is why it is ideal to digitize it. New innovations in how we exchange this digital information will continue to grow however we trust the technology and in my opinion people trust brands that have a reputation for providing useful and popular services to people. For instance, people use Digital Wallet technology, like Android Pay and Apple Wallet because the companies that own, develop and implement these services are popular and widely used by people.
Another factor is trust in ACH payment technology. The Automated Clearing House was formed by the American Bankers Association in 1974 and by 1978 it was possible for two financial institutions to exchange ACH payments electronically. ACH technology has increasingly grown to the point where electronic payment exchanges are a norm for most Americans and many people around the world. Due to the trust in the ACH network and the added trust in PCI standards that help protect credit card information, people naturally trust technology innovations that are backed by their banking institution. For instance, recommending Apple Wallet and Android Pay on banking institutions’ websites helps users feel more confident that their money is secure.
RESOURCES: “History and Network Statistics.” History and Network Statistics | NACHA, NACHA, www.nacha.org/ach-network/timeline. Accessed 16 Oct. 2017
Deliverable 2: Digital business enhancements.
Using digital wallet technology like Android Pay and Apple Wallet to deliver business communications like statements and notices. At current digital wallets are primarily used for credit, debit, and prepaid cards, store cards, boarding passes, movie tickets, coupons, and rewards cards. A credit union could consider enhancing its digital footprint by delivering statements and notices to the wallet solution. By doing this they’ll give their members the ability to view their statements or pay bills from within their mobile device’s digital wallets. In addition, members will receive device notifications reminding them to make or schedule a payment before a payment due date, receive notifications confirming their payment has been made and receive automated updates in their digital wallet that reflect real-time information through a tool that they naturally use daily and leveraging a solution that is native to their device. In addition, it is a major enhancement to their customer engagement model by highly improving how members interact with their statements and documents – essentially reducing the need for members to remember their account number and log-in information while also decreasing the likelihood that they will forget to pay their bill on time.
RESOURCES: “Android – Android Pay.” Android, Google, www.android.com/pay/. Accessed 16 Oct. 2017 “Use Wallet on Your IPhone or IPod Touch.” Apple Support, Apple Inc, 20 Sept. 2017, support.apple.com/en-us/HT204003
Deliverable 2: Digital dominace.
This lesson reinforced that digital technology has a major impact on how we access, share and use information. All information can, and eventually, will be virtualized in some way to replace its analog alternative and the remaining analog information services will eventually be replaced with a digital method. For instance, the process to cast a vote in a presidential election has traditionally been completed in person or via mail. As a method of sharing information about an election choice, it seems ideal that vote casting would lead to being an action that can be completed digitally. Today, the government has avoided investing in technology solutions that can deliver completely online/digital vote casting for several reasons like online security and voter fraud. I believe that as our trust in information technology and digital brands continues to grow we will see digital processes replace their analog counterparts for information-related services.