The Financial Brand Insights - Winter 2021

The Five Essential Card Needs for Digital Consumers

The Data Shows... The good news is that consumers continue to rely on their debit and credit cards to make purchases. Recent research from Raddon , a Fiserv company, shows the average consumer makes 23.2 payments monthly, with more than half of these (60 percent) conducted via a card (figure 1). At the same time, these consumers are also relying more and more on digital services: 40 percent say that at least half of their monthly transactions are done on their mobile phones or computers (figure 2). The stakes for maintaining top-of-wallet and front-of-phone positioning couldn’t be higher. Financial institutions still rely on the interchange income provided by credit and debit programs for a large percentage of their non-interest income. For institutions participating in the Raddon Performance Analytics program, 27 percent of non-interest income came from interchange in 2020. As debit and credit card usage replaced cash and checks, banks and credit unions were the clear beneficiaries. Today, the willingness of young consumers to replace cards with new tech company offerings, P2P services and stored value

Figure 2

Prefered payment method for monthly purchases by consumers

Majority plastic

Majority digital

25%

40%

8%

Majority analog

27%

Blended

SOURCE: Raddon © November 2021 THE FINANCIAL BRAND

accounts represents a real threat to interchange income, making it more important than ever for institutions to get as much of their account holders’ payment wallets as possible. Don’t wait. You’ve got to maintain your prominence by focusing on providing a safe, contactless and reliable payment method your digitally-minded consumers want. Implementing innovative digital card services and capabilities that span the cardholder lifecycle will help you keep your consumers satisfied and engaged. The Five Essentials: A Day in the Life The appeal of digital card services is easy to understand when you preview a typical day in the life of a digital consumer. 1. Get a Card The day begins as your consumer goes online to open a new checking account. You make your interaction easy by enabling them to provide and enter pertinent information online or in-app and open a new account quickly. 2. Use a Card Next, your consumer receives a text message from you directing them to access your mobile

You’d be meeting a significant number of consumers’ expectations for fast, efficient service. You’d also be delivering a robust payments experience that ideally positions you to keep your card top-of-wallet and front-of-phone. But maintaining that primary status is increasingly difficult. Financial institutions have learned they don’t have an automatic right to their account holders’ payments. Tech firms continue to aggressively fight for these transactions, requiring banks and credit unions to evolve their offerings by developing and delivering card-based payments capabilities that are quick, easy, and capable of deepening cardholder relationships. As the financial services world continues to digitize, banks and credit unions need to take every step possible to ensure they maintain their place in the payments ecosystem by offering card capabilities expected by an increasingly savvy user base.

By Randy Piatt Vice President, Product Solutions at Fiserv, Inc.

Average monthly consumer payment transactions Figure 1

What if Your Credit and Debit Card Users Could:

1. Get new cards or replacement cards quickly, right from their smartphones and internet- enabled devices? 2. Use their cards immediately by loading them into digital wallets? 3. Understand and track where their card is being used — in-person, online, in-app, and for card- on-file purchases — instantly? 4. Manage access to self-service options 24x7, including setting controls and alert preferences? 5. Engage with value-add card-centric features like rewards and offers that are relevant to their daily financial services experiences?

7.3

Credit card

60% conducted via a card

6.8

Debit card

Auto-withdrawn from checking

3.3

1.9

Cash

Financial institution bill pay

1.9

Check 1.2

0.5

P2P

Prepaid or reloadable card

0.4

SOURCE: Raddon © November 2021 THE FINANCIAL BRAND

37

38

THE FINANCIAL BRAND INSIGHTS WINTER 2021

THE FINANCIAL BRAND INSIGHTS WINTER 2021

Powered by