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MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Financial institutions continue to be focused on improving the digital customer experience for small businesses. Although the digital account opening process is not a new event, financial institutions continue to refine the customer journey with the help of advanced technology. Digital transformation initiatives in the small business segment have become increasingly important due to the pandemic and the restrictions it has imposed on in-person activity. A key challenge of digitizing the account opening process is business verification and beneficial ownership verification for multi-owner businesses. Compounding the Know Your Customer (KYC) challenges is the ability to build online relationships that begin digitally without in person interaction. It is imperative to benchmark and compare offerings to uncover how the new processes work as well as how existing processes have evolved over the years, says Youa Yang, Managing Partner and COO at Barlow Research. Part of the equation of digitizing banking is to ensure that human contact is not lost through these critical junctures. Barlow Research set out to identify opportunities for improvement in the multi-owner small business customer journey for new customers in the digital account opening process including application, verification of beneficial business owners, funding options and onboarding communications. We have mapped the new customer online application journey from first click to two weeks after the accounts were opened, reported Allison Haley, Barlow Researchs Digital Business Banking Program Manager. The customer experience varies from bank to bank. Understanding how each banks process works as well as the look and from the eyes of the small business customer is imperative for understanding best practices and roadblocks to a frictionless customer journey. Barlow Researchs 2020 Small Business Digital Account Opening Study is available for purchase. A comprehensive report and presentation are provided. Detailed journey maps and fully narrated video captures of the small business new customer digital account opening experience for all providers tested are included. Best practices and learning opportunities are highlighted throughout the report. For more information, contact insights@barlowresearch.com About Barlow Research Barlow Research Associates, Inc. (BRAI) was founded in 1980 to provide research services to the financial services industry in the U.S. and globally. BRAI specializes in custom research, strategic consulting and syndicated research programs in small business, middle market and digital business banking. BRAI has a wide range of experience in many financial markets and knows the questions to ask and the issues to probe.

Answer: Bank of America, Chase, TD, Truist and U.S. Banks Digital Account Opening Experiences Differ for Small Business Owners According to a Recent Barlow Research Study