Despite years of digital transformation, onboarding remains one of the biggest pain points in retail banking. The Future Branches 2025 study found that 41% of institutions say their account opening process is too time-consuming, while 39% report frequent data errors that increase manual work and abandonment.
The result? Lost customers, frustrated staff, and slow deposit growth. In an environment where fintechs offer instant verification and one-click loans, traditional institutions can’t afford friction. FMSI helps them remove it, turning onboarding from a barrier into a competitive advantage.
Account Abandonment Up To 40%
The report reveals that over half of institutions (53%) experience account abandonment rates between 25% and 40%, and more than a third lose over 40% of applicants before completion. These failures stem from manual data entry and verification delays, poor integration between LOS, POS, and CRM systems, limited self-service options, and bottlenecks in branch traffic flow.
To combat these challenges, 61% of leaders plan to strengthen fraud prevention, 59% aim to improve core integrations, and 52% will enhance personalized onboarding within 18 months. FMSI directly enables these objectives through:
- Lobby: Real-time visibility into customer wait times and service flow, reducing bottlenecks and improving satisfaction.
- Staff Scheduler: AI-assisted workforce management ensures optimal coverage for high-demand periods, reducing delays and enhancing operational efficiency.
- Analytics: Centralized insights into process performance, customer journeys, and staffing utilization allow teams to pinpoint and eliminate friction fast.
Choosing The Right Tools
Institutions using tools like FMSI Analytics consistently see improvements in time-to-service, conversion rates, and customer satisfaction. The study reinforces that AI-powered decisioning and predictive analytics are top investment areas (61% and 56%) for improving onboarding efficiency. FMSI’s suite directly supports these goals by integrating data across systems and providing visibility into every step of the customer journey.
Another major pain point? Risk and regulatory hurdles. Forty-two percent of respondents reported frequent fraud and compliance issues affecting loan origination and account opening. FMSI’s automated data flows reduce human error and manual re-entry, the main causes of compliance delays, while ensuring a transparent, auditable process that meets modern security standards.
Streamlining The Account Opening Process
Account opening isn’t just a transaction. It’s the start of a relationship. By streamlining the process, FIs not only gain speed but also unlock more meaningful customer engagement opportunities. With FMSI Lobby, staff can identify cross-sell opportunities at the point of interaction. With FMSI Analytics, they can track what drives satisfaction and lifetime value. And with FMSI Scheduler, they can ensure every member meets the right specialist without waiting in line.
The future of branch performance lies not in replacing people with technology, but in empowering them with data and automation to deliver faster, smarter, and more human service. FMSI provides the infrastructure for that transformation. By connecting workflows, analytics, and human touch-points, it helps banks and credit unions create the frictionless experiences today’s customers demand, and tomorrow’s growth depends on.
Ready to remove friction from your account opening process? Discover how FMSI’s workflow, scheduling, and analytics tools can transform your branch experience.
