Why digital empathy is key to building a financial brand

Ipsos says lenders financial institutions now compete with best-in-class platforms across all industries

Building an effective financial institution brand today requires understanding and showcasing digital empathy, said Ngan Ly, Chief Client Officer for Ipsos Vietnam.

“Digital empathy is about bringing understanding of why customers choose, trust, and love us directly into design decisions”, Ngan Ly told attendees of the Asian Banking & Finance and Insurance Asia Summit 2026 - Vietnam.

Making a digital experience empathetic starts with asking what it feels when a transaction or financial services does not go smoothly.

“Every single digital interaction is a moment of truth,” Ly said, noting that a technical error is not simple or technical, but a broken brand promise.

Brands must also understand that their competitors are not just the brands or companies in the same sector, but the best platform or digital experience that a customer has recently had, regardless of sector.

“Sometimes, the most…empathy you can show your customers is to make their life easy,” Ngan Ly said. “Design and beauty first of all has to serve learnability to make it easy for customers.”

She notes an e-wallet platform which can record the first utility payment done by a customer. This app introduced a technology that automated an ID for the customer, allowing them to complete or repeat a transaction without manually feeding all the information once more.

Elements in digital experience design that build connection are Design Appeal and Inspiration. These are the qualities that elevate a functional tool into something that looks beautiful and genuinely inspires the person using it.

An example could be notification of philanthropic milestones reached, such as getting a tree planted for a certain project after hitting a spending minimum.

“All of this is really helping people to move beyond watches, the daily spending, to do something that is more meaningful, and that is inspiration, and that is empathy,” Ngan Ly said.

She advised financial institutions to look at three layers of context: Market – to understand broader expectations; Brand - to identify where digital experience can build a stronger connection to the brand; and Human – to have more real-world testing and ensure design is for reality. Measure what matters and optimise what is really important, she said.

“I believe that the digital experience is no longer just a channel for you to reach your customer, but it’s going to be a driver for your brand connection,” Ngan Ly said.