Tag: customer experience

While it’s a word that has only recently made its way into financial circles, consumers and businesses alike have been enjoying life in a platform world. Digital platforms connect riders with drivers, friends with family, manufacturers with buyers and sellers, and the list goes on. Digital platforms are technology-enabled business models that work to enhance efficiency, flexibility, scalability, integration, and ultimately user engagement. They’re integral to the operation and success of some of the most valuable companies in the world, including Google, Facebook, and Amazon. While digital platforms have made their way beyond high-tech to other industries, like supply chain management and logistics, financial institutions have fallen behind. The reasons why are understandable: a quickly evolving marketplace, regulatory induced risk aversion, and the need to protect data and privacy. Most of the digital platform adoption that has occurred in the financial industry has revolved around open banking, with a focus on enriching the customer experience. BBVA, for instance, recently launched a platform to enable their business clients to use white-labeled versions of BBVA products and services on-demand. But the value of digital platforms for the financial industry can go beyond how the consumer interfaces with his or her bank or credit union. Financial institutions could see the same efficiency, flexibility, and integration benefits by implementing technology platforms into their internal systems. Traditionally, financial institutions have used contrasting technology and systems across their customers’ lifecycle. From financial marketing and targeting, to acquisition and underwriting, there is ample opportunity to streamline and integrate these systems by adopting a platform architecture. The most future-forward platforms not only enable financial institutions to integrate their internal systems, but they also allow companies to seamlessly integrate their customer data with third-party data resources. The powers of data-driven answers combined with platform technology can help overcome business challenges and satisfy consumer and client demands. Is it time you and your company stepped up to the platform?

2018 was a whirlwind of a year – though it was not surprising when Google’s 2018 “most-searched” list showed Fornite GIFs ruled the internet, Black Panther was the most-Googled movie, and the Keto diet was trending (particularly in late December and early January, go figure). But, while Google’s most-searched terms of 2018 present pure pop-culture entertainment, they miss the mark on the trends we find most meaningful being principals of the financial services industry. What about the latest news in fintech? According to Business Insider, fintech companies secured $57.9 billion in funding in the first half of 2018 alone, nearing the previous annual record of $62.5 billion set in 2015. Taking it a step further, CBInsights reports that 24 of 39 fintech unicorns are based in North America. We won’t blame Google for this oversight. Faced with the harsh reality that the “most-searched” results are based on raw-data, perhaps it’s possible that people really do find Fortnite more exciting than financial services trends – but not us at Experian. We have been closely following disruption in the financial services space all while leading the charge in data innovation. When competing in environments where financial institutions vie for customer acquisition and brand loyalty, digital experience is not enough. Today’s world demands finance redefined – and fintechs have answered the call. Fintechs are, by far, among the most innovative technology and data-driven companies in the financial services industry. That’s why we built a team of seasoned consultants, veteran account executives and other support staff that are 100% dedicated to supporting our fintech partners. With our expert team and a data accuracy rate of 99.9%, there isn’t a more reliable fintech source. Perhaps this is one financial services trend that Google can’t ignore (we see you Google)! For more information regarding Experian’s fintech solutions, check out our video below and visit Experian.com/fintech.

The business case for identity verification and risk assessment tools is most compelling when it includes a broad range of both direct and indirect factors. Here are 3 indirect measures we suggest you consider: Customer experience improvement — With 72% of businesses focused on service, according to Forrester Research,* the value of reduced friction can’t be overstated Reputation and brand protection — The monetary cost of fraud losses can be high, but the impact on customer relationships and brand integrity can be even higher. Compliance — Noncompliance costs an average of 2.65 times more than investing in a technology-based compliance solution. Justifying investment in fraud prevention technology can be challenging. A business case built on the right data can pave the way to upgrading your identity verification and risk assessment technology. Learn more in our buyer's guide>

It’s clear the digital marketplace is here to stay. Online activities among consumers reflect the increased adoption of digital commerce. In fact, recent findings from our 2018 Global Fraud and Identity Report show the top activity on mobile devices is online shopping, followed closely by personal banking.   Consumers trust technology and, by proxy, the businesses that help enable it. It’s critical for organizations to continue to build trust online without disrupting the consumer experience. It’s the goal — and the responsibility — of businesses. Learn more

For most businesses, the customer experience is at the heart of every strategy. Debt collection shouldn’t be different. Here’s why: 21% of visits to an online debt recovery system were made outside the traditional working hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Of the consumers who committed to a repayment plan, only 56% did so in a single visit. PricewaterhouseCoopers reported that 46% of consumers use only digital channels to conduct banking, avoiding traditional offline channels. Conversely, data collected by Gallup between 2013 and 2016 showed that 48% of American banking customers would only consider using a bank that offered physical branches. The debt collection process is an often-overlooked opportunity to build customer relationships and loyalty. Leverage data and technology to replace outdated approaches, minimize charge-offs and create environments that value each customer. Learn more>

Everyone loves a story.  Correction, everyone loves a GOOD story. A customer journey map is a fantastic tool to help you understand your customer’s story from their perspective. Perspective being the operative word. This is not your perspective on what YOU think your customer wants. This is your CUSTOMER’S perspective based on actual customer feedback – and you need to understand where they are from those initial prospecting and acquisition phases all the way through collections (if needed). Communication channels have expanded from letters and phone calls to landlines, SMS, chat, chat bots, voicemail drops, email, social media and virtual negotiation. When you create a customer journey map, you will understand what channel makes sense for your customer, what messages will resonate, and when your customer expects to hear from you. While it may sound daunting, journey mapping is not a complicated process. The first step is to simply look at each opportunity where the customer interacts with your organization. A best practice is to include every department that interacts with the customer in some way, shape or form. When looking at those touchpoints, it is important to drill down into behavior history (why is the customer interacting), sociodemographic data (what do you know about this customer), and customer contact patterns (Is the customer calling in? Emailing? Tweeting?). Then, look at your customer’s experience with each interaction. Again, from the customer’s viewpoint: Was it easy to get in touch with you? Was the issue resolved or must the customer call back? Was the customer able to direct the communication channel or did you impose the method? Did you offer self-serve options to the right population? Did you deliver an email to someone who wanted an email? Do you know who prefers to self-serve and who prefers conversation with an agent, not an IVR? Once these two points are defined: when the customer interacts and the customer experience with each interaction, the next step is simply refining your process. Once you have established your baseline (right channel, right message, right time for each customer), you need to continually reassess your decisions.  Having a system in place that allows you to track and measure the success of your communication campaigns and refine the method based on real-time feedback is essential. A system that imports attribute – both risk and demographic – and tracks communication preferences and campaign success will make for a seamless deployment of an omnichannel strategy. Once deployed, your customer’s experience with your company will be transformed and they will move from a satisfied customer to one that is a fan and an advocate of your brand.

Newest technology doesn’t mean best when it comes to stopping fraud I recently attended the Merchant Risk Conference in Las Vegas, which brings together online merchants and industry vendors including payment service providers and fraud detection solution providers. The conference continues to grow year to year – similar to the fraud and risk challenges within the industry. In fact, we just released analysis, that we’ve seen fraud rates spike to 33% in the past year. This year, the exhibit hall was full of new names on the scene – evidence that there is a growing market for controlling risk and fraud in the e-commerce space. I heard from a few merchants at the conference that there were some “cool” new technologies out to help combat fraud. Things like machine learning, selfies and other two-factor authentication tools were all discussed as the latest in the fight against fraud. The problem is, many of these “cool” new technologies aren’t yet efficient enough at identifying and stopping fraud. Cool, yes.  Effective, no.  Sure, you can ask your customer to take a selfie and send it to you for facial recognition scanning. But, can you imagine your mother-in-law trying to manage this process? Machine Learning, while very promising, still has some room to grow in truly identifying fraud while minimizing the false positives. Many of these “anomaly detection” systems look for just that – anomalies. The problem is, we’re fighting motivated and creative fraudsters who are experts at avoiding detection and can beat anomaly detection. I do not doubt that you can stop fraud if you introduce some of these new technologies. The problem is, at what cost? The trick is stopping fraud with efficiency – to stop the fraud and not disrupt the customer experience. Companies, now more than ever, are competing based on customer experience. Adding any amount of friction to the buying process puts your revenue at risk. Consider these tips when evaluating and deploying fraud detection solutions for your online business. Evaluate solutions based on all metrics What is the fraud detection rate? What impact will it have on approvals? What is the false positive rate and impact on investigations? Does the attack rate decline after implementing the solution? Is the process detectable by fraudsters? What friction is introduced to the process? Use all available data at your disposal to make a decision Does the consumer exist? Can we validate the person’s identity? Is the web-session and user-entered data consistent with this consumer? Step up authentication but limit customer friction Is the technology appropriate for your audience (i.e. a selfie, text-messaging, document verification, etc...)? Are you using jargon in your process? In the end, any solution can stop 100% of the fraud – but at what cost. It’s a balance - a balance between detection and friction. Think about customer friction and the impact on customer satisfaction and revenue.

Happy holidays! It’s the holiday season and a festive time of year. Colorful lights, comfort food and holiday songs – all of these things contribute to the celebratory atmosphere which causes many people to let their guards down and many businesses to focus more on service than on risk. Unfortunately, fraudsters and other criminals can make one of the busiest shopping times of the year, a miserable one for their victims. The nature of the stolen data has the potential to create long-term headaches for the organization and tens of millions of individuals. Unlike a retailer or financial breach, where stolen payment cards can be deactivated and new ones issued, the theft of permanent identity information is, well, not easily corrected. You can’t simply reissue Social Security numbers, birth dates, names and addresses. For individuals, we need to internalize this fact: our data has likely been breached, and we need to become vigilant and defend ourselves. Sign-up for a credit monitoring service to be alerted if your data or ID is being used in ways that indicate fraud. Include your children, as well. A child’s identity is far more valuable to a fraudster as they know it can be several years before their stolen identity is detected. The good news is, in addition to the credit bureau, many banks and auto clubs now offer this as a service to their customers. For organizations, the focus should be on two fronts: data protection and fraud prevention. Not just to prevent financial theft, but to preserve trust — trust between organizations and consumers, as well as widespread consumer trust.  Organizations must strive to evolve data protection controls and fraud prevention skills to minimize the damage caused by stolen identity data. There are dozens of tools in the industry for identifying that a consumer is who they say they are – and these products are an important part of any anti-fraud strategy.  These options may tell you that the combination of elements is the consumer, but do you know that it is the REAL consumer presenting them? The smart solution is to use a broad data set for not only identity verification, but also to check linkage and velocity of use.  For example: Is the name linking to other addresses being presented in the past week? Is the phone number showing up to other addresses and names over the past 30 days? Has the SSN matched to other names over the past 90 days? Since yesterday the address matches to four phone numbers and two names – is this a problem? And it must be done in ways that reinforce the trust between consumers and organizations, enhance the customer experience, and frustrate criminals.  Click here to learn more about Experian’s products and services that can help. As we go walking in the winter wonderland, remember, the holiday season is a time for cheer… and vigilance!

Since 1948, International Credit Union Day – a time to recognize the credit union movement – has been celebrated the third Thursday of October. The day is the perfect time to remind your members and consumers about all of the services and benefits your credit union offers. This year’s theme, “The Authentic Difference,” celebrates what makes credit unions stand out. Here are 10 reasons CUs deserve a spotlight: Credit unions are non-profit cooperatives, owned and operated by its members. That means they emphasize consumer value to more than 217 million members worldwide. Profits go back to members in the form of reduced fees, higher savings rates and lower loan rates. Personal relationships are key. Credit unions pride themselves on developing relationships with their members, and CUs are typically staffed by friendly reps who know customers by name. Checking accounts are free. Roughly 80 percent of credit unions offer free checking accounts, compared to less than 50 percent of banks, according to economic research firm Moebs Services. Few ATM fees. Many credit union customers are able to avoid ATM fees because CUs typically give them access to a large network of ATMs by sharing branches and other resources. Savings rates are above average. Because credit unions don't have to pay dividends to shareholders and are exempt from federal taxes they can offer high rates on saving accounts. The average credit union offers CD, money market, and savings rates well above the national banking rates average. Lower interest rates. Credit unions offer lower interest rates on some loans. The difference between banks and credit unions was greatest in car-loan interest rates, according to a September report by SNL Financial. The average 36-month used-car loan interest rate offered by CUs was 2.67 percent compared to 4.45 percent for banks. For new-car loans, CUs offered an average interest rate for 48 months of 2.60 percent compared to 3.94 percent for banks. Invested in the community. A credit union’s core values are focused on its members and the communities where they live and work. Many provide financial education and outreach to consumers. It’s easier to get credit. CUs don’t have to abide by loan restrictions and qualifications mandated by a corporate office, so they have more flexibility to make loans when possible. Small-business support: CUs may know borrowers and are able to take into account intangibles like community reputation and accountability. Also, they understand the value to the community of a small business, its market and credit needs. Joining is easy. Many credit unions base eligibility simply on where you live, instead of restricting membership to a particular employer. Since expanding eligibility, credit union membership has grown by about two percent a year for the past decade.

For years, organizations have used data to improve operational efficiencies and cost savings. Now they are beginning to use data to optimize or improve nearly every aspect of their organization. When justifying the return on investment for managing data quality, consider these findings from a recent Experian Data Quality survey of U.S. organizations: 23% of customer data is believed to be inaccurate 75% think inaccurate data is undermining their ability to provide an excellent customer experience 79% say it is difficult to predict when and where the next data challenge will arise 77% believe data management is driven by multiple stakeholders in their organization rather than by a single data specialist >>Download: The 2016 global data management benchmark report

Loyalty fraud and the customer experience Criminals continue to amaze me. Not surprise me, but amaze me with their ingenuity. I previously wrote about fraudsters’ primary targets being those where they easily can convert credentials to cash. Since then, a large U.S. retailer’s rewards program was attacked – bilking money from the business and causing consumers confusion and extra work. This attack was a new spin on loyalty fraud. It is yet another example of the impact of not “thinking like a fraudster” when developing a program and process, which a fraudster can exploit. As it embarks on new projects, every organization should consider how it can be exploited by criminals. Too often, the focus is on the customer experience (CX) alone, and many organizations will tolerate fraud losses to improve the CX. In fact, some organization build fraud losses into their budgets and price products accordingly — effectively passing the cost of fraud onto the consumers. Let’s look into how this type of loyalty fraud works. The criminal obtains your login credentials (either through breach, malware, phishing, brute force, etc.) and uses the existing customer profile to purchase goods using the payment method on file for the account. In this type of attack, the motivation isn’t to receive physical goods; instead, it’s to accumulate rewards points — which can then be used or sold. The points (or any other form of digital currency) are instant — on demand, if you will — and much easier to fence. Once the points are credited to the account, the criminal cashes them out either by selling them online to unsuspecting buyers or by walking into a store, purchasing goods and walking right out after paying with the digital currency. A quick check of some underground forums validates the theory that fraudsters are selling retailer points online for a reduced rate — up to 70 percent off. Please don’t be tempted to buy these! The money you spend will no doubt end up doing harm, one way or another. Now, back to the customer experience. Does having lax controls really represent a good customer experience? Is building fraud losses into the cost of your products fair to your customers? The people whose accounts have been hacked most likely are some of your best customers. They now have to deal with returning merchandise they didn’t purchase, making calls to rectify the situation, having their personally identifiable information further compromised and having to pay for the loss. All in all, not a great customer experience. All businesses have a fiduciary responsibility to protect customer data with which they have been entrusted — even if the consumer is a victim of malware, phishing or password reuse. What are you doing to protect your customers? Simple authentication technologies, while nice for the CX, easily can fail if the criminal has access to the login credentials. And fraud is not a single event. There are patterns and surveillance activities that can help to detect fraud at every phase of your loyalty program — from new account opening to account logins and updates to transactions that involve the purchase of goods or the movement of currency. As fraudsters continue to evolve and look for the least-protected targets, loyalty programs have come to the forefront of the battleground. Take the time to understand your vulnerability and how you can be attacked. Then take the necessary steps to protect your most profitable customers — your loyalty program members. If you want to learn more, join us MRC Vegas 16 for our session “Loyalty Fraud; It’s Brand Protection, Not Just Loss Prevention” and hear our industry experts discuss loyalty fraud, why it’s lucrative, and what organizations can do to protect their brand from this grey-area type of fraud.

As thought leaders in every industry make predictions for what 2016 will bring, I’m guessing there will be a few constants. New couples will marry. Some couples, sadly, will divorce. Young and old will move – some into first homes – others downsizing or making moves cross-country for work. And waves of individuals will clamor to the latest devices – a new iPhone7, perhaps. The Apple rumors are already flying. Yes, no big surprises, right? But, do you know what all of these very standard life events have in common? These transitions often result in shifts in consumer data, sometimes making people more difficult to track and contact. New last names, new addresses, new phone numbers. Suddenly, the consumer data that companies and lenders have on file are dated, and when it comes time to reach out to these individuals, it’s a challenge to connect. But that is just the beginning. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is increasing its efforts to register consumer complaints and taking aggressive actions to stop companies from making unsolicited phone calls. And the penalties are steep. Fines per individual infraction can be anywhere from $500 to $1,500. Companies have been delivered hefty penalties in the thousands, and in some cases millions, of dollars, over the past few years. All have questions and are seeking to understand how they must adjust their policies and call practices. Now those multiple attempts to call and find a consumer can cost you – big time. No more “shotgun” approaches to identifying and using phones. It’s simply too risky. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), enforced by the FCC, has been around since 1991, but regulations have been closely scrutinized over the past year since the FCC announced a new ruling last summer to clarify hot topics. In their July paper, they aim to communicate the definition of an “auto-dialer,” consent-to-call rules, how to address the reassignment of cell phone numbers, and the new requirement for “one call” without liability. In short, the Declaratory Ruling has opened the door to even greater liability under the TCPA, leaving companies who place outbound customer calls at-risk for compliance violations. Some are projecting the TCPA rules will continue to become even more expansive in 2016, so companies must really assess their call strategies and put best practices in place to increase right-party contact rates. Suggestions include: Identify landline and cell phones for TCPA compliance with dialer campaigns Focus on right- and wrong-party contact to improve customer service Score phones or apply cut-off scores based on the confidence of the number or match Scrub often for updated or verified information Establish a process to identify ported phones Determine when and how often you dial cell phones Provide consumers user-friendly mechanisms– such as texting “STOP” or “UNSUBSCRIBE” – to opt-out of receiving TCPA-covered communications. Review the policies and practices of third-party vendors to ensure they are not sending communications violating the TCPA With the huge advancements in mobile technology and the ever-changing digital landscape, it’s challenging to keep up, but regulators are cracking down on violations, and a slew of lawyers are ready to file on behalf of unhappy consumers dialed one-too-many times. Beyond a best-practice review, tools and systems are available to identify the right number for those moving and changing consumers. And I’m sure we can all agree, those life events will continue to happen in 2016. Marriages, divorces, moves, new devices. They’re coming. As a result, it’s necessary to track the resulting changes to consumer data. Only then will you have a shot at avoiding negative customer experiences and fines.

Customer Experience during the holiday shopping season During the holidays, consumers transact at a much greater rate than any other time of the year. Many risk-management departments respond by loosening the reins on their decision engines to improve the customer experience — and to ensure that this spike does not trigger a response that would impede a holiday shopper’s desire to grab one more stocking stuffer or a gift for a last-minute guest. As a result, it also is the busy season for fraudsters, and they use this act of goodwill toward your customers to improve their criminal enterprise. Ultimately, you are tasked with providing a great customer experience to your real customers while eliminating any synthetic ones. Recent data breaches resulted in large quantities of personally identifiable information that thieves can use to create synthetic identities being published on the Dark Web. As this data is related to real consumers, it can be difficult for your identity-authentication solution to determine that these identities have been compromised or fabricated, enabling fraudsters to open accounts with your organization. Experian’s Identity Element Network™ can help you determine when synthetic identities are at work within your business. It evaluates nearly 300 data-element combinations to determine if certain elements appear in cyberspace frequently or are being used in combination with data not consistent with your customer’s identity. This proven resource helps you manage fraud across the Customer Life Cycle and hinder the damage that identity thieves cause. Identity Element Network examines a vast attribute repository that grows by more than 2 million transactions each day, revealing up-to-date fraud threats associated with inconsistent or high-risk use of personal identity elements. Our goal is to provide the comfort of knowing that you are transacting with your real customers. Don’t get left in the cold this holiday season — fraudsters are looking for opportunities to take advantage of you and your customers. Contact your Experian account executive to learn how Identity Element Network can help make sure you are not letting fraudsters exploit the customer experience intended for your real customers. Learn more about the delicate balance between customer and criminal by viewing our fraud e-book.

Protecting your customer The impact of fraud on the customer relationship Sadly fraudsters seem to always be one-step ahead of fraud-prevention strategies, causing organizations to play catch-up to the criminals. And as information security tightens and technologies evolve, so does the industrious nature of organized identity and online fraud. It should be no surprise then that fraud risk mitigation and management will continue to be an ongoing issue for organizations. But what continues to drive investment in identity management and online risk tools is the arms race across organizations to deliver superior customer experience and functionality. While the monetary cost of fraud losses can be high and rather detrimental, the impact of lost customers and overall reputational decline due to poor customer experiences can be higher. The key is finding the right balance between identifying and segmenting likely fraudulent customers across the vast majority of legitimate customers and transactions. I want to share a recent interactive eBook we launched which outlines the authentication and identity management balance with a focus on the consumer. We highlight current trends and what organizations should be thinking about and doing to protect their business, institution, or agency and customers. I hope you enjoy this look at the impact of fraud on the customer relationship.    

In today's data driven world, decisioning strategies can no longer be one-dimensional and only risk-focused. By employing a multidimensional decisioning approach, companies can deliver the products and services customers need and want.