Prepaid mobile banking can help financial institutions serve customers who maintain lower balances while still providing convenient access to essential financial services. For banks, serving these customers profitably can be challenging because their customer service needs may be similar to those of customers with significantly larger account balances. Finding efficient ways to provide account access and routine services is therefore especially important when serving this market.
U.S. Bank’s AccelaPay prepaid product addresses this challenge by combining prepaid account functionality with mobile banking capabilities from FIS. The approach gives cardholders another way to manage their finances while potentially strengthening their relationship with the bank. Because consumers are more likely to have access to a mobile phone than a personal computer, extending financial services to mobile devices can make prepaid accounts more accessible and useful for customers who might otherwise have limited banking options.
Profitability is a challenge for financial institutions serving light volume customers with low balances who have nearly as many customer service concerns as a higher net worth client. US Bank offers its AccelaPay prepaid product to those less well-heeled customers and has wisely added mobile banking features to the program. The mobile capability is from FIS.
Through this innovative combination, AccelaPay cardholders can use their mobile phones, including BlackBerrys and iPhones, to check their account balance, pay bills, receive account alerts and view mini-statements.
The AccelaPay card is a prepaid card that functions as a traditional bank account allowing users to make deposits and pay bills. Research has shown that consumers are more likely to have a mobile phone than a PC. Adding mobile access to their primary financial vehicle will help to create a tighter bond between US Bank and this customer segment.
Mobile access can make prepaid products more useful by allowing customers to manage everyday financial activities without relying on a computer, calling customer service, or visiting a branch. Features such as balance inquiries, bill payments, account alerts, and transaction information give prepaid cardholders greater control over their accounts while providing many of the capabilities consumers increasingly expect from traditional banking products.
For financial institutions, mobile functionality can also create opportunities to serve lower-balance customers more efficiently. Giving customers convenient self-service tools can reduce some of the costs associated with routine account inquiries while making the prepaid product a more valuable part of the customer’s financial life.
By adding prepaid mobile banking capabilities to AccelaPay, U.S. Bank can provide greater convenience to customers who may not use traditional banking products while improving engagement with this segment. Combining prepaid accounts with mobile technology offers financial institutions a way to expand access to useful financial tools, strengthen customer relationships, and potentially improve the economics of serving consumers who might otherwise be difficult to serve profitably.
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http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4720113
