Neobanks have touted their account-opening ease and digital experiences as factors behind their surge of new clients, underscoring traditional banks’ need to continue revamping their processes. 

Money is moving right now and having a seamless customer experience is a ticket to winning it.

Neobanks and fintechs like Mercury, Meow, NorthOne, and Arc have capitalized on SVB’s failure with a surge of new clients, and experts attribute it to their digital acumen and fast account-opening processes. 

For example, neobanks can open accounts for new clients online in under an hour, while traditional banks may take days. They also have a “great digital-only experience,” as Alloy Labs CEO Jason Henrichs put it to American Banker.  

There’s also their flexibility to launch new promotional campaigns or product strategies. For example, Mercury quickly boosted its FDIC insurance coverage to $3 million last week by splitting up customer funds across a network of different bank partners.  

Money is moving right now and having a seamless customer experience is a ticket to winning it.  

While signs point to the fact that traditional institutions ultimately stand to be the biggest beneficiaries of SVB’s collapse (Bank of America, for example, has reportedly gained $15 billion in recent deposits), they can still learn from their fast-moving counterparts. In short, the need to simplify account openings and improve digital capabilities is more important than ever.