High-Touch Digital Lending & Text Messaging
Most financial institutions are racing to go digital. They are making very significant investments in new digital infrastructure to get there. However, they are now faced with the challenge of going digital without losing their personal relationships with their customers, which risks turning their services into a commodity where the only differentiator is their interest rate.
Recently, Shastic and Priority One collaborated to create a technology solution for the credit union’s digital platform.
With the addition of SMS, Priority One added an innovative security process for the verification of the member’s identity. This allowed the credit union to perform specific tasks over the phone, such as balance inquiries, transferring funds and making loan payments.
Continue reading “Priority One Integrated SMS for Verification and Security”
A Harvard Business Review poll noted that the most critical part of customer satisfaction is reducing customer effort.
Continue reading “HBR Poll: Offering the Best User Experience is Powerful”
CorePlus Credit Union, based out of Norwich, Connecticut, took a big step in growing its digital presence by incorporating Shastic’s member engagement software into their pre-existing web pages and mobile apps.
Continue reading “CorePlus Adopts Strategy to Grow Digital Presence”
Technology, especially Fintech, is designed to make life easier for both companies and the people they serve.
Continue reading “Credit Union Times covers New MeridianLink SMS announcement”
Both banks and credit unions continue to lose market share to digital lending platforms that offer better user experience and more personalization.
Fintech startups issued 38% of all US personal loans in 2018, while banks provided 28% and credit unions accounted for 21%, according to TransUnion. This is a significant change from 2013, when fintech startups issued only 5% of US personal loans, banks issued 40%, and credits unions 31%.
MeridianLink is the largest loan origination system in the United States, providing the nation’s first multi-channel loan organization platform
Recently, MeridianLink announced a partnership with Shastic to deliver an innovative SMS and real-time tracking integration inside all of their applications. Before this, financial institutions did not have a way to communicate with their customers as they moved through the application process.
Continue reading “Shastic Partners with MeridianLink to Leverage SMS in the Application”
There is a good chance you have used a shortcode at some point when communicated by SMS with a business organization, whether it be in the financial services, retail, travel, or transportation industry.
Continue reading “The Problems With Shortcode”
There’s no denying that technology has changed the way that people communicate, for better or worse.
Continue reading “How Messaging Has Transformed Customer Service”
Everyone has experienced at least one instance in which they’ve had a lackluster customer service experience. The best that companies can hope for with those is that they fall to the wayside, but they can quickly become the bane of a company’s existence
Continue reading “Fintech Provides Customers with Meaningful Experiences”
Most credit unions currently have a process in place to verify each member through the call center. The verification of the member’s identity allows the credit union to perform specific tasks over the phone, such as balance inquiries, transferring funds and making loan payments.
Continue reading “How Credit Unions Verify Each Member’s Identification Digitally”
Mobile banking is one of the top three most-used apps on consumer smartphones.
Continue reading “To Be a Leader in the Industry Mobile Banking is the Key”
In the past, people had the time to visit a bank. But all companies must re-evaluate their customer service routines, and market leadership today means exploring how technology can help customers at financial institutions.
Continue reading “Mobile Banking: Exploring Trends For Market Leadership”
Most people who have a smartphone utilize it for more than just phone calls.
Continue reading “Studies Show Mobile Banking Apps are Among the Most Popular”
Not all credit union customer service strategies are created equal. Customer service solutions that incorporate some form of nonverbal messaging are better-off than those without.
Continue reading “Driving Credit Union Messaging: What Works?”
One challenge that credit unions face today is the need to keep themselves relevant. Usually, this involves making a face for themselves on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, but this alone is not key to keeping technologically viable. The key, it seems, is adopting a technological advancement that has been around for decades and yet has been primarily underutilized by companies. The technology? Two-way text messaging.
Continue reading “Two-Way Text Messaging for Credit Union Communication”
Text messaging is now a commonplace practice among most people, and more and more financial institutions are adapting text messaging solutions out of convenience.
Continue reading “Best Practices to Drive Messaging at Your Credit Union”
Anyone involved in a technology field can tell you business technology is growing rapidly. What this means for companies is that they must update their technology in order to remain viable in their field of competition. “Set and forget” technologies, or technologies that are not designed to meet the constantly shifting expectations of modern technology, pose problems to potential company growth. In many cases, set and forget technologies can put companies years behind and create cost burdens to businesses.
Continue reading “Credit Union Digital Strategies Aren’t “Set and Forget””
If your company is a fledgling in the world of technology, don’t worry. The term defined data strategy is nowhere near as challenging or technologically advanced as it sounds.
Continue reading “Why Your Credit Union Needs a Defined Data Strategy”
There are reasons why banks and other financial institutions are adopting mobile-based platforms for their customers: It fosters a sense of closeness that has been lost in the business of the modern world.
Continue reading “How to Build Community With Text Messaging”
Last week, the CreditUnionTimes featured a story about why three of Shastic’s credit union partners are integrating text messaging into their operations strategy.
This CUTimes article dives into how credit unions are using SMS text to connect to the systems they already use, including account opening, loan origination, and customer relationship management systems.
Continue reading “CUTimes story: Why Credit union members love text message interactions”
The financial industry is seeing an emergence of digital technology, delivering enhanced experiences to customers who demand convenience, accessibility and easy-to-use platforms.
Continue reading “Why it’s Now Time to Adopt an Omni-Channel Digital Strategy”
In 2018, Park Community was evaluating messaging communication services to create a better experience for their members. The credit union needed a text messaging platform that could accurately capture loan prospects in real-time and help guide them through the digital application journey when applicants entered Park’s online loan applications.
Continue reading “Park Community on pace for 2044% ROI from loan growth”
Think that adults age 40 and over are your biggest worry? Think again. When it comes to servicing the largest group of potential customers, this role goes to the Millennial population and is closely followed by Generation Z. For this specific audience, the digital user experience takes a much higher priority.
While in-person or over-the-phone interactions may have been the preferred method in the past, the next generation of banking customers are challenging this idea, and backing it up with surprising statistics.
Is your financial institution experiencing a lower-than-average rate of new customers? How about those online applications — are they being consistently abandoned by new customers? If so, you’re not alone. Studies have shown that recent abandon rates for online banking applications have averaged out to about 97% among financial institutions.
Continue reading “Reducing Friction in Account Opening”
Credit Unions are up against tough competition when it comes to providing digital services to a young, growing population. This is particularly true when you consider how just one bad user experience can turn away a potential long-term Millennial customer permanently.
Continue reading “The Dos and Don’ts of Text Messaging”
With many people concerned about the prospect of “robots” taking their jobs, the idea of an automated workplace just might seem like one step closer to a dystopian reality. But for those in workforces where the majority of the work can be completed on an employee’s own time and without direct supervision from a manager, workflow automation can be a blessing. Not only does it place more trust in your employees and cause them to focus efforts on more meaningful tasks, but it can also increase the level of satisfaction held by your customers.
Continue reading “Benefits of Workflow Automation”
Just a few years ago, the FCC determined text messaging does indeed fall under the TCPA umbrella. For some companies, this may have come as a surprise — particularly for Jiffy Lube with their now-famous SMS mishap.
But no need to get discouraged or abandon the idea of text messaging for your financial organization altogether. There are a few easy ways to make sure your company complies with the TCPA and never misses a beat.
Continue reading “Best Practice for Complying with SMS Regulation”
The mass adoption of B2C text messaging is not by accident. Companies, both large and small, now understand just how powerful text messaging tools can be for their business. This is particularly true for the new digital age of banking.
Continue reading “B2C Text Messaging: Knowing the Rules for Digital Banking”
Over the last year, the Elle text messaging platform continues to advance with new benefits and features the banking industry. Today, we are highlighting on such addition that our banking partners have been taking advantage of recently – collecting loan and new account documentation by text messaging.
Continue reading “Receiving Banking Documents Just Got Easy”
The importance of texting as both a social and marketing tool is now more important than ever for businesses.
Continue reading “Text Marketing Vs. Email Marketing: Infographic”
Even before the dawn of text-based everything, David Wachs and other marketers knew that SMS-based marketing was the future of marketing. The evidence for SMS-based marketing was what prompted Wachs to write this article, which details the five most important things, in his opinion, to utilizing this underrated marketing option.
Continue reading “Key Reasons SMS Marketing is Essential”
Email is attached to everything today in your career and your personal life. With this widespread exposure, it is understandable why so businesses flock to the simple email as a means of marketing. But emailing might not be the best way to reach your audience.
Continue reading “Four Reasons Why SMS is More Effective than Email Marketing”
An article covered in Entrepreneur points out a few things that really do not change much over time — customers, regardless of demographics, always want the same basic things. Author, Derek Gehl breaks down a few approaches to with getting these customers to opt-in to offers that speak to this mindset.
Continue reading “Eight SMS Opt-in Approaches to Consider”
If you have a mobile device, chances are you’ve probably gotten an unwanted text or SMS before. They are unavoidable, ranging from unsolicited advertising to ‘special’ marketing promotions. In the end, it makes you ask how your number was made available to this person. Even worse, when customers find out a company they are affiliated with is doing this, a common knee-jerk reaction is to stop being a customer altogether.
Continue reading “Mobile SMS Secrets: Strategies for Success”
In a recent article by The Financial Brand, Alex Kreger describes the complexities of banking for a Millennial customer. It is important to consider this age group, argues Kreger, as it is estimated that before 2025 Millennials will control $7 trillion in global assets.
Continue reading “How to Design a Millennial Bank”
It has taken less than ten years for text messaging and mobile-based communication to become the preferred method of communication across the globe. This simple fact based on recent studies, emphasizes why marketers and financial institutions, in particular, should build a strategy for text messaging.
Continue reading “Text Messaging Metrics You Can’t Ignore”
In an article by Tim Fujita-Yuhas of The Financial Brand, the author highlights some staggering statistics concerning text message usage by mobile banking customers. For example, “64% of millennials prefer text messages to voice for customer service.” The Financial Brand also notes how “77% of millennials look favorably on companies that offer text messaging communications.”
Continue reading “Make Mobile Messaging Part of Your Communications Plan”
Since the 2015 FCC ruling, all companies that engage in text messaging are required to comply with TCPA regulations in reference to their text messaging services. Under the ruling, it requires banks and credit unions to follow certain stipulations when it comes to sending our SMS or MMS messages.
Continue reading “Know the Text Messaging Guidelines”
OpenMarket did a great job of explaining the simplicity of bank text messaging. Beginning first with a brief overview of what different text banking messages look like and explaining the different functionality available to these financial organizations.
Continue reading “How SMS Increases Convenience for Banking Customers”
In 2012, cell-phone usage was beginning to peak and was quickly becoming one of the most important tools for marketing. Text messaging, especially, was showcasing its versatility and abundance. Unfortunately for some companies, such as Jiffy Lube, little research was done into opt-in text messaging solutions before deploying to their customer base. This article highlights exactly what can happen if precautions are not taken to respect customer wishes regarding opt-in texting.
Continue reading “SMS Marketing Case Study: Avoid Jiffy Lube’s Costly Mistake”
In the fast-moving world of financial technology, better known as
The benefits of having text message services for banking are real. Not only does it provide a direct channel of communication “à la” SMS but it can also connect more people to your organization’s brand, fostering a deeper sense of customer loyalty.
Continue reading “SMS Opt-in for Banking: How to Opt-in Users for Text Messaging?”
Text messaging functionality is quickly being adopted by financial institutions seeking to better serve their customers. Once deployed, these leading businesses see it as an invaluable communication tool. However, it is important to understand the do’s and don’t when it comes to text messaging regulation.
Continue reading “FCC Rules & Regulations on Text Messaging: Understanding TCPA”
In a recent article, Nichole Wong delves into the expanding world of text messaging for banking. Wong also points out some surprising differences between email and text marketing.
Continue reading “How to Improve Customer Experience with SMS Banking”
Shep Hyken of Forbes points out several ‘frightening statistics’ in the world of customer service — something that all leading businesses must master at one point or another. In his piece, Hyken’s focuses less on the impact of customer retention and more on the monetary impact of poor customer service.
Continue reading “Why Poor Customer Service Costs Billions and How to Fix it”
When it comes to mediums or channels of communication, text messaging is the most underutilized ways of gathering account information from customers, selling them on new products, and ultimately catering to their needs. In recent studies, it is shown that within the first 3 minutes of receiving a text message, 98% of all text messages are read. This statistic alone uncovers
You get a text and you don’t really think about the processes it takes to get that message from sender to receiver.
However, financial institutions must think about this when implementing their own text banking options. Here’s a look into the various text messaging offerings for financial institutions and how each motivates different type of customers.
Continue reading “Push Vs. Pull : Which Text Messaging Service Benefits Banking Customers Most?”
Digital transformation is a hot topic for leading financial institutions today. Luckily, most banks and credit unions are overcoming the pressure to adapt or become extinct. Rather, these banking institutions are steadily transforming into a digital era, with many now adding messaging to their omnichannel communication strategies.
Continue reading “Five Benefits When Adding Messaging to Your Banking Strategy”
Over the last decade, banking technology has expanded rapidly with the growth of several new communication channels to improve the user experience. And the expansion of these new digital cross-channels can be attributed to a single group — Millennials.
Text messaging is no longer considered a complicated, high-tech decision for banks and credit unions. Statistics show that text message for banking is critical to efficiently service customers in today’s world. Furthermore, a majority of financial institutions see text message as a gateway to provide consumers with a better digital experience.
Continue reading “As Communication Changes, Banking Call Centers Turn to Text”
A loan applicant prospect starts to fill out a loan application online. This applicant comes to a section that confuses them and stops completing the application. They decide to come back to the loan application tomorrow when they can get help. However, the applicant forgets about it and the financial institution never follows up with this prospect. Does this sound familiar?
Continue reading “How Educators Credit Union Achieved a 68% Completion rate from Loan Applicants”
Susan is a CMO at a Washington-based financial institution. She loves her team’s outreach strategy, but deep down she knew something wasn’t right. Her promotional emails were ignored, outbound calls went unanswered, and overall engagement was low. She didn’t know why this was happening, but knew that she had to make a change.
If you work at a bank or credit union, you may have noticed there’s a fundamental shift in how communication is delivered and received, and this change is happening at unprecedented speeds.
Continue reading “How the World is Communicating and Why Banks and Credit Unions Should Pay Attention”
A common goal for marketing professionals at credit unions is getting the right content to the right audience at the right time. So, you put extra effort into your strategy. You categorize and target your member audience to specific financial products or promotions. You make your email and social media posts engaging. You offer fun and interactive sweepstakes.
However, despite this effort, you notice your members are not responding at the same rate as they have in the past.
Digital transformation tears through the financial services industry like a whirlwind. It is often so dizzying that it can seem like the progress of technology has a mind of its own. It can be forgotten that all of the disruption and change exists for one reason — to better
Financial institutions are experiencing an evolution in terms of how they reach consumers across new mediums of communication. Many have followed the example of
The building out of these products demonstrates an growing demand for conversational messaging functionality. Here are a few key attributes driving this progress:
Continue reading “Why Conversational Messaging is a No-Brainer”
Despite the proven wins for financial institutions, not all credit unions are quick to adopt more efficient communication technology. Credit unions are often slower to offer their members 1-on-1 text messaging services or push SMS messaging even though it is the way members want to communicate.
Here are a few reason why credit unions should step it up when it comes to diversifying their digital conversational channels:
The biggest concern credit unions have with text messaging is opt-in consent. All credit unions must obtain “prior written consent” from members before sending text message communication to meet FCC/TCPA compliance. So how can you automatically convert new applicants into lifelong text message recipients?
Continue reading “7 Strategies for Credit Unions to Grow Text Message Opt-in Consent”
Shastic has signed on five new customers in the first month of 2018. The recent growth follows the company’s early launch of Elle, a conversational text messaging platform built for credit unions. Elle is an expansion of their automation services to deliver efficient, real-time message communication between credit unions and their members.
Continue reading “Five Credit Unions Sign with Shastic’s Text Messaging Platform in January to Enhance Lending and Operations”
Arguably the most prefered way to communicate digitally in the early 2000’s, email has begun to fade from popularity as more efficient methods are emerging. The rise of email-based spam or unsolicited commercial emails could be a major factor. Kaspersky Labs report states email makes up 70% of all emails sent, while a 2014 email metric report found the portion of spam email was around 90% of emails sent. Or, perhaps it is due to the growing number of message-based applications available offering a real-time conversational platform to connect organizations with consumers.
Here are some key reasons why email is being replaced by a new wave of business tools:
Continue reading “Is Email Dead?”