CXFS 2023 Case Study: JP Morgan Chase & Co
As the largest bank in the US based on total assets, and the world’s largest bank by market capitalization, JP Morgan Chase & Co is uniquely positioned to lead the industry when it comes to providing customers with the kind of next generation experience they expect when dealing with financial services providers.
With over a century of experience backing it up (the original entity JP Morgan & Co was founded in 1871) and being made up of several global institutions, JP Morgan Chase & Co has seen dozens of banking trends come and go – from the first ATMs removing the need for customers to visit a teller to withdraw cash, to post-millennium technical innovations such as online banking and video conferencing.
All this and more makes JP Morgan Chase & Co an ideal subject for this very special CXFS 2023 case study in which we’ll dive under the surface of this storied global brand and discover just some of the ways it provides its customers with a superior banking and investment experience in the 21st century.
Retail Banking
With much of the financial services industry betting big on clicks rather than bricks when it comes to providing the kind of financial services experience customers want, you’d be excused for thinking that digital represents an inexorable direction of travel for the business.
However, JP Morgan Chase is still investing heavily in retail banking and firmly believes customers still desire in-person banking experiences. This belief is also borne out by the evidence. Repeated studies have found that customers – especially those belonging, perhaps surprisingly, to younger generations such as GenZ and Millennials – still desire the option to walk into a physical branch to discuss more complex financial services.
While it’s true that these demographics prefer to carry out every day financial interactions using apps or online portals – interactions such as paying bills or simple balance transfers – when it comes to opening accounts, discussing investments, or arranging mortgages, they still very much prefer to speak face-to-face. The nature of these interactions could provide a reason for this pattern being the inverse of what one might expect as older customers such as Baby Boomers are far less likely to need to discuss new accounts or mortgages and are therefore happy to mostly stick to online interactions.
This is why the Chase branch network has expanded to cover every state in the US. In 2017, 61% of the US population had access to a physical Chase branch location, whereas by 2021, this had risen to a massive 79%. The bank has achieved this by actually reducing the total number of branches in the country – from 5,150 down to 4,800 – but ensuring these locations are placed more strategically for maximum population coverage.
Digital Disruptor
Just in case you thought from the previous section that JP Morgan was going all in on retail banking, the company has also been seeking to disrupt the digital only banking space with its stealthy incursion into the UK financial services market.
In 2019, JP Morgan set out to establish Chase in the UK as a digital only bank to capitalize on the nation’s buoyant market for neobanks and fintechs. The mission was so secretive that the project lead, Deborah Keay wasn’t even allowed to update her LinkedIn profile to accurately reflect her new role.
However, the project has since flourished, and Reuters recently reported that JP Morgan intends to boost the project’s workforce to at least 2,000 over the next two years and is firmly focused on providing its new network of British customers with the kinds of technologically driven experiences they expect from a modern digital bank.
JP Morgan is using the UK as a testbed for an international drive to dominate this sector of the financial services industry.
"We want to be international, starting with the UK," said UK chief executive of Chase, Sanjiv Somani in an interview at the bank's UK headquarters in Canary Wharf in London. You have to look at a ten-year view. If you look at anything shorter it will not lead to the right conclusion ... The retail banking revenue pool is in the trillions, even outside the US."
This is particularly ambitious given the intensifying cost of living crisis which has soured the outlook for retail banks globally – particularly in the UK at the time as the country had been gripped by a crisis of investor confidence after then finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng sent the pound and government bonds into freefall with a fiscal plan that unnerved markets.
Wealth Plan
We know many citizens right here in the US are struggling to make ends meet right now and many people are searching for ways to better manage their money in this increasingly challenging environment defined by a spiraling cost-of-living and soaring inflation.
To help its customers meet these challenges, JP Morgan announced in December 2022 the launch of a new digital tool – Wealth Plan. This digital money coach is designed to help JP Morgan customers gain a greater insight into the state of their finances and offer assistance with saving, investments, and all aspects of financial planning and budgeting. The tool is free to all 62 million digitally-active Chase customers in the top-ranked Chase Mobile app and Chase.com.
"Wealth Plan lets clients take control of their finances and interact with us however they choose, which increasingly is digitally,” said Head of Digital Planning & Advice at JP Morgan Wealth Management, Sam Palmer. "And if they want to speak with an advisor, they can schedule a meeting right in the Chase app, and easily share their goals to have a meaningful conversation from day one.”
The Wealth Plan tool allows customers to:
- Get a full view of their finances including accounts outside of Chase.
- Create and track goals in real time and get personalized step-by-step guidance on next steps.
- See how changes to their spending or savings today could impact their financial future.
- Schedule a video meeting and work one-on-one with a J.P. Morgan financial advisor.
By clicking on the 'Plan & Track' tab on the Chase app and Chase.com, clients will be able to access several features to help inform their financial decisions:
- Income & spending shows earnings monthly, quarterly or annually, and compares them to a user’s spending categories.
- Net worth offers a view of total assets and debt.
- Goal simulator allows users to envision the future they want, and then set, review, and modify those goals. Customers can virtually adjust their financial decisions to see how changes today may impact on their tomorrow.
"Wealth Plan will be available for free to all customers inside the Chase app,” said CEO of JP Morgan US Wealth Management, Kristin Lemkau. "This allows customers to see their savings and spending, and then set up their goals, like retirement, college savings or a vacation. They can explore options for how much they should save or invest to achieve that goal over time. We think it’s one of the best tools available and people will love it.”
Final Thoughts
As you can see JP Morgan Chase & Co isn’t afraid to take risks and make sure it is dominating in every sphere of the financial services industry. From big investment in both retail and digital only banking, to providing customers with useful tools to better manage their money, JP Morgan Chase & Co ensures its customers are receiving the best experience possible, regardless of how they interact with the brand.
You can hear Lawrence Lipkin, Executive Director - CIB Digital and Platform Services - Head of User Experience Design for Payments, JP Morgan, and Mitch Rose, VP, Digital Strategy, JP Morgan speak at CXFS 2023, being held in July and August at The Westin Copley Place, Boston, MA.
Download the agenda today for more information and insights.