VAR Panchayat

Turning Negative to Positive

by VARINDIA 2017-03-29

Banks include a variety of authentication options within mobile application, not only to keep customers’ accounts safe but also provide a level of comfort and customer service

We have all seen the news lately – financial institutions globally are finding themselves victims of attacks and breaches which leave their customers vulnerable and in need of additional account security and a new payment card. The good news is that there are ways in which financial institutions can ensure that their customers’ accounts are protected and that they can also easily replace their payment cards.

Many customers are unaware of fraudulent activity on their account until they check their online accounts or bank statements, which can range anywhere from a matter of minutes to several days. Once they, or their financial institution, discover fraud, it is necessary that both parties take action to ensure that the account is secured and any additional fraud is mitigated.

Today, many financial institutions are implementing a variety of authentication methods which allow customers to keep an even closer eye on their accounts activity than in the recent past. When banks include a variety of authentication options within their mobile application, they are not only helping to keep their customers’ accounts safe, but also providing a level of comfort and customer service.

For example, customer A is making a purchase online. After choosing their items, proceeding to the checkout and pressing “buy”, the customer almost instantly receives a push notification through their banking mobile app which asks them to authorize the transaction. If the customer is not making a purchase, they can decline the transaction and report fraud of their card or account. If they are making the purchase, they can be rest assured that their financial institution is watching out for them. Banks can also choose to include mobile push notifications for high-value banking transactions and account openings, which again adds a layer of security to the account and allows for the consumer to have additional visibility into their account activity and ensure that all transactions, whether a simple online purchase or a $10,000 transfer is being made.

Breaches and fraudulent account activity can also have an adverse effect on the way customers feel about their financial institution – if breached, consumers may feel that they can no longer trust their financial institution and choose to take their banking business elsewhere. One customer may not be a big loss to a bank, but if many customers choose to leave because of a bank-wide breach, the financial impact on a bank could be huge. But banks have an opportunity to take this negative situation and turn it around and make it an opportunity to show their customers great customer service.

If a customer’s account is breached, fraud detected on their payment card or if they have simply lost their card, the customer can walk into their financial institution and receive an instantly issued, fully activated payment card. Studies have shown that when a financial institution can instantly replace a lost, stolen or breached card, customers are 22 per cent more likely to be very-to-extremely satisfied with their bank, which thereby turns into increased revenue for the bank due to top of wallet placement of that payment card, as well as increased use of that card. As opposed to waiting for seven to ten days to receive their new payment card via mail, customers walk out of the financial institution with instant purchasing power and account access.

Breaches and frauds will continue to occur, but the way in which financial institutions react to these breaches and implement security features and customer service initiatives will help them to remain as a centre of trust and security in the marketplace.