Technology has created a world in which consumers expect to have their needs met instantly – be they shopping online for goods, searching for information, or any number of such behaviors. The scope of this “instant society” has come to include the financial services industry, as well, posing a challenge to banks and related institutions to build customer loyalty by meeting their expectations for speed and convenience.
Entrust Datacard recently published a white paper that addresses this very challenge, focusing on the benefits of instant issuance for financial institutions that are seeking to strengthen their relationships with consumers.
The report points out that consumer loyalty to banks is at an all-time low, highlighting the necessity for financial institutions to craft omnichannel experiences that are as effective as they are unique.
It dives into a number of examples that illustrate today’s world of instant expectations, such as Amazon Prime moving from two-day shipping to same-day delivery in many U.S. cities, and the fact that 25 percent of streaming video consumers will abandon what they are watching if it takes more than 5 seconds to load.
Additionally, the report shares that an increasing number of online retailers are looking to Google Instant (which auto-completes search terms) to expedite shopping.
Moving specifically to the financial services world, the white paper shares some key statistics from an Ernst & Young study.
All of this illustrates the need for financial institutions to get on board with new technologies and offer more personalized services – particularly those that can make the in-branch experience more robust. The challenge, of course, is for financial services businesses to do all of this while keeping costs low and protecting cardholder data.
The report takes a look at the traditional method of credit and debit card issuance – and why it really doesn’t hold water in today’s instant society. Handled by mail, the entire process – application, personalizing and mailing cards, PIN assignment, and card activation – usually takes more than a week. Instant issuance deployment changes all that.
With instant issuance, consumers visit a branch and provide their application information to a staff member. The application is then run through a software program that handles both the approval and the card personalization process. Ready-to-use, fully activated cards are produced and presented to the consumer on site.
The report goes into detail regarding 3 key benefits of instant issuance for financial institutions:
Enhanced Consumer Experience. Particularly in situations of emergency replacement, instant issuance makes a branch an invaluable asset to consumer.
Secure Issuance. Security is built into instant issuance, which involves dual sign-in and data encryption processes, as well as secure PIN issuance. It meets all of the latest industry standards, including MasterCard and Visa instant issuance standards and certifications as a PCI PA-DSS solution.
Improve Issuance Portfolio Performance. Instant issuance brings more customers into a bank, increases card usage and decreases downtime in reissuance situations. It also helps to make the card in question top-of-wallet, as consumers know it will always be immediately available.
The report goes on to address the aspect of implantation of instant issuance, stressing the importance of collaboration in making the service an effective one. It recommends equal engagement with no fewer than 4 arms of a business –executive management, product marketing, operations, and branch/retailer – each of which has an essential role to play.
In its conclusion, the report puts an emphasis on strategy for financial institutions looking to incorporate instant issuance. Talking to experts and taking a thoughtful approach are key to any such implementation; equally important is choosing a partner with the right setup for flexibility and innovation.
After all, innovation is what drives “instant society,” and any consumer-facing business – financial ones included – that makes its customer wait is likely to get left behind.
To download the full white paper and learn more about the key findings discovered by Entrust Datacard click the button below.
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