Tag: mobile technology

This article was updated on February 23, 2024. First impressions are always important – whether it’s for a job interview, a first date or when pitching a client. The same goes for financial services onboarding as it’s an opportunity for organizations to foster lifetime loyalty with customers. As a result, financial institutions are on the hunt now more than ever for frictionless online identity verification methods to validate genuine customers and maintain positive experiences during the online onboarding process. In a predominantly digital-first world, financial companies are increasingly focused on the customer experience and creating the most seamless online onboarding process. However, according to Experian’s 2023 Identity and Fraud Report, more than half of U.S. consumers considered dropping out during account opening due to friction and a less-than positive experience. And as technology continues to advance, digital financial services onboarding, not surprisingly, increases the demand for fraud protection and authentication methods – namely with digital identity (ID) verification processes. According to Experian’s report, 64% of consumers are very or somewhat concerned with online security, with identity theft being their top concern. So how can financial institutions guarantee a frictionless online onboarding experience while executing proper authentication methods and maintaining security and fraud detection? The answer? While a “frictionless” experience can seem like a bit of a unicorn, there are some ways to get close: Utilizing better data - Digital devices offer an extensive amount of data that’s useful in determining risk. Characteristics that allow the identification of a specific device, the behaviors associated with the device and information about a device’s owner can be captured without adding friction for the user. Analytics – Once the data is collected, advanced analytics uses information based on behavioral data, digital intelligence, phone intelligence and email intelligence to analyze for risk. While there’s friction in the initial ask for the input data, the risk prediction improves with more data. Document verification and biometric identity verification – Real-time document verification used in conjunction with facial biometrics, behavioral biometrics and other physical characteristics allows for rapid onboarding and helps to maintain a low friction customer journey. Financial institutions can utilize document verification to replace manual long-form applications for rapid onboarding and immediately verify new data at the point of entry. Using their mobile phones, consumers can photograph and upload identity documents to pre-fill applications. Document authenticity can be verified in real-time. Biometrics, including facial, behavioral, or other physical characteristics (like fingerprints), are low-touch methods of customer authentication that can be used synchronously with document verification. Optimize your financial services onboarding process Experian understands how critical identity management and fraud protection is when it comes to the online onboarding process and identity verification. That’s why we created layered digital identity verification and risk segmentation solutions to help legitimize your customers with confidence while improving the customer experience. Our identity verification solutions use advanced technology and capabilities to correctly identify and verify real customers while mitigating fraud and maintaining frictionless customer experiences. Learn more

This article was updated on August 9, 2023. Debt collections can be frustrating — for both consumers and lenders alike. Coupled with ever-changing market conditions and evolving consumer expectations for their digital experience, lending institutions and collections agencies must develop the right collections strategies to reduce costs and maximize recovery rates. How can they do this? By following the three Cs — communication, choice and control. Communication To increase response rates and successfully retrieve payments, lenders must cater to consumers’ preferences for communication, or more specifically, make the right type of contact at the right time. With debt collection predictive analytics, you can gain a more holistic view of consumers and further insight into their behavioral and contact channel preferences. This way, you can better assess an individual's propensity to pay, determine the best way and time to reach them and develop more personalized treatment strategies. Control Debt collection solutions that provide a more comprehensive customer view can also give individuals greater control as they’re able to engage with collectors via a channel that may be easier or more comfortable for them than a phone call, such as email, text or chatbots. Providing consumers with various options is especially important as 81% think more highly of brands who offer multiple digital touchpoints. To further improve your methods of communication, consider streamlining monotonous processes with collection optimization. By automating repetitive tasks and outreach, you can reduce errors and free up your agents’ time to focus on accounts that need more attention, creating a customer-centric collections experience. Choice Ultimately, the success of collections initiatives relies heavily on how well collection practices are accepted and adopted by the end user. Consumers want to make informed decisions and want to be offered choices – therefore giving them more control in a decision-making process and with their finances. “Consumers have made a monumental shift to digital. To enhance your collections performance, it is critical to engage consumers in the method and channel of their choosing,” said Paul Desaulniers, Head of Scoring, Alternative Data and Collections at Experian. Lending institutions and third-party collection agencies that are able to communicate across all consumer channels will see more success in their collections strategies. Are your debt collection tactics and strategies up-to-par? READ: Strengthening Your Debt Collection Strategy Improve your collections strategy By catering to consumers’ communication preferences, giving them control and offering them choices, financial institutions and collections agencies can more effectively reach their customer base, with less effort. It’s a win-win for all. Experian offers various debt management and collections systems that can help you optimize processes, reduce costs and increase recovery rates. To get started, visit us today. Learn more

The future is, factually speaking, uncertain. We don't know if we'll find a cure for cancer, the economic outlook, if we'll be living in an algorithmic world or if our work cubical mate will soon be replaced by a robot. While futurists can dish out some exciting and downright scary visions for the future of technology and science, there are no future facts. However, the uncertainty presents opportunity. Technology in today's world From the moment you wake up, to the moment you go back to sleep, technology is everywhere. The highly digital life we live and the development of our technological world have become the new normal. According to The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), almost 50% of the world's population uses the internet, leading to over 3.5 billion daily searches on Google and more than 570 new websites being launched each minute. And even more mind-boggling? Over 90% of the world's data has been created in just the last couple of years. With data growing faster than ever before, the future of technology is even more interesting than what is happening now. We're just at the beginning of a revolution that will touch every business and every life on this planet. By 2020, at least a third of all data will pass through the cloud, and within five years, there will be over 50 billion smart connected devices in the world. Keeping pace with digital transformation At the rate at which data and our ability to analyze it are growing, businesses of all sizes will be forced to modify how they operate. Businesses that digitally transform, will be able to offer customers a seamless and frictionless experience, and as a result, claim a greater share of profit in their sectors. Take, for example, the financial services industry - specifically banking. Whereas most banking used to be done at a local branch, recent reports show that 40% of Americans have not stepped through the door of a bank or credit union within the last six months, largely due to the rise of online and mobile banking. According to Citi's 2018 Mobile Banking Study, mobile banking is one of the top three most-used apps by Americans. Similarly, the Federal Reserve reported that more than half of U.S. adults with bank accounts have used a mobile app to access their accounts in the last year, presenting forward-looking banks with an incredible opportunity to increase the number of relationship touchpoints they have with their customers by introducing a wider array of banking products via mobile. Be part of the movement Rather than viewing digital disruption as worrisome and challenging, embrace the uncertainty and potential that advances in new technologies, data analytics and artificial intelligence will bring. The pressure to innovate amid technological progress poses an opportunity for us all to rethink the work we do and the way we do it. Are you ready? Learn more about powering your digital transformation in our latest eBook. Download eBook Are you an innovation junkie? Join us at Vision 2020 for future-facing sessions like:  -  Cloud and beyond - transforming technologies - ML and AI - real-world expandability and compliance

A court in a Northern China province has developed a mobile app designed to enforce court rulings and create a socially credible environment. The app, which can be accessed via WeChat, China's most popular instant messaging platform, is designed to alert users when they are within a 500-meter radius of someone in debt. Users will get personal information about the debtors, including their exact location, names, national ID numbers, and why they have a low score. It's the latest innovation to become integrated into China's social credit system. What is a social credit system? China's social credit system, which will be enforced in 2020, aims to standardize the social reputation of citizens and businesses. It will rank citizens by attaching a score to various aspects of their social life - ranging from paying court fees to drinking alcohol to failing to pay bills. Although there are proposed consequences for low scorers, including travel bans and loan declines, 80% of citizens recently surveyed by the Washington Post support it. While the app seems like it could be a plotline from a "Black Mirror" episode, with its emphasis on reputation scoring and location-based activation, there are reasons it makes sense for the rather remote northern province. With many people in China still not having formal access to traditional banks, being able to alternatively assess their trustworthiness and risk could provide them the ability to access loans, rent houses, and even send their children to school. Additionally, to increase their scores, Chinese citizens are displaying improved behavior. China isn't the first country to attempt to gain a robust understanding of its consumers through alternative data sources. While U.S. financial institutions have experimented with using social media as a factor in determining a borrower's risk, Philippines-based Lenddo, a world leader in scoring and identity verification technology, is doing that and more. The company looks at social media, email, and mobile headset activity to determine repayment ability. Moreover, Discovery Bank in South Africa believes there's a correlation between fiscal responsibility and physical health. The South African bank plans to begin tracking the habits of its 4.4 million customers and offering better deals to those who are living a healthier lifestyle. For example, consumers can earn points for visiting the gym, getting a flu shot, or buying healthy groceries. The more points a consumer collects the better deals and savings they'll receive. The willingness to share data is not a characteristic unique to South African or Chinese citizens. A recent Accenture study of 47,000 banking and insurance customers showed that consumers are willing to share personal data in exchange for better customer assistance and discounts on products and services. The full extent of the impact on social credit to Chinese citizens is impossible to calculate, simply because the system doesn't fully exist yet. However, it does serve as an example of the many ways that credit scoring and the use of customer-permissioned data are evolving. Long gone are the days of mailing checks, ordering from a catalog, or even needing to carry cash. What's next?

With the number of consumer visits to bank branches having declined from 52% of people visiting their bank branch on a monthly basis to 32% since 2015, the shift in banking to digital is apparent. Rather than face-to-face interaction, today’s financial consumers value remote, on-demand, services. They expect instant credit decisioning, immediate account funding, and around-the-clock customer assistance. To adapt, financial service providers see the necessity to respond to consumers’ growing expectations and become part of their overall digital lifestyle. Here are a few ways that financial services can adjust to changing consumer behavior: Drive mobile app activity With more than 50% of the world’s population actively using smartphones, the popularity of mobile banking apps has soared. Mobile apps have revolutionized the banking sector by facilitating easier communication between clients and institutions, offering value-added services, and introducing blockchain technologies. Consumers use mobile banking apps to pay bills, transfer funds, deposit checks, and make person-to-person payments. In fact, according to a study by Bank of America, more than 60% of millennials use mobile apps to make person-to-person payments on a regular basis! Financial institutions who launch new, or invest in enhancing existing mobile apps, can lower their overall costs, increase ROI, and maintain customer loyalty. Provide convenience and rewards CGI conducted a survey on emerging financial consumer trends, focusing on bank customers’ top requirements. Results confirmed that 81% of respondents expected to receive some form of an incentive from their primary banks. Today’s financial consumers may reasonably be won over by service offerings. They want rewards, limited fees, and convenience. As an example, Experian’s Text for CreditTM simplifies the credit process by providing customers with instant credit decisioning through their mobile devices. Personalized offers based on customer behavior can help enhance your brand and attract new customers. Stay connected Today’s consumers expect instant service and gratification. Consumers prefer to work with banks who offer accessible and responsive customer service. According to a recent NGDATA consumer banking survey, 41% of banking customers report that poor customer service is the primary reason they would leave their bank. Mintel suggests developing an omnichannel experience aligned with consumer media consumption. Stay connected with consumers through mobile apps, chatbots, social media, and email. Ensure that all interactions are relevant and helpful and immediately alert customers of any institutional issues or changes. The growing digital demands of consumers are influencing how people purchase banking, lending, and credit services. These changes are driving increased urgency for financial service institutions to adopt real-time financial processes that meet demands for convenience and speed. Interested in more best practices? Watch our On-Demand Webinar