Sometimes, all you need is the right data

A few years ago, I (Jonas) was leading a team of data scientists tasked with an interesting but challenging problem. The financial services business we worked for attracted many new online visitors wanting to open new accounts with us through the company’s website. However, a significant number of potential customers couldn’t complete the account opening process for unknown reasons, which is why the company turned to its data scientists for help.

This problem of unopened accounts and lost customers was multifaceted, but we were determined to find every needle in the haystack. The account opening process was rather straightforward, designed to make it easy for someone to open a new account in less than 10 minutes with no support. For the customer, the steps were as follows:

1. Enter personal details.
2. Verify identity.
3. Verify contact details.
4. Accept the terms and conditions and open an account.

This process...