In a recent blog, we discussed how IMM’s eReceiptsPlus can modernize both the consumer experience and back-office operations. This cloud-based solution enables banks and credit unions to eliminate paper forms, not just receipts, by capturing digital signatures in a variety of ways, including on a customer’s own smartphone via SMS text.
We touched on the many benefits of a digital-centric approach, especially one that gives customers full control over how they choose to complete a transaction. In addition to eliminating the cost of maintaining hardware like receipt printers and projecting a green paperless image that appeals to a growing audience segment, adopters can also deliver the modern experience consumers have been conditioned to expect from leading retailers.
Let’s look at a few concrete examples where financial institutions (FIs) can realize these benefits.
The drive-thru is a popular medium for banking activities as many prefer the in-car convenience over parking and walking into the branch. Drive-thru transactions, particularly small business ones, can often be complex and time-consuming. With cars queued in a single lane, no one wants to be stuck behind one of these marathon requests.
Some FIs have even resorted to passing signature pads through the pneumatic tube system to avoid dealing with lost pens, missing document pages, etc. Imagine the convenience of texting the customer a link, which they can use to sign a confirmation on their phone screen and be on their way.
Square has already popularized the point-of-sale experience in the retail space. Some tech-forward gas stations have also jumped on the trend with the latest pay-at-the-pump technology that eradicates the driver’s need to remove a payment card from their wallet. Wouldn’t it be great to see FIs at the forefront of such an innovation for a change?
On a similar tech-forward note, wireless technology can enable banks to set up short-term pop-up branches at locations where existing and prospective customers are likely to congregate, such as state fairs, music festivals and farmers’ markets. This degree of community presence can help generate new account openings and further integrate your financial institution into the area.
Contact centers are a popular engagement channel that is often leveraged when transactions need to be completed remotely. Assuming service center ops are handled offsite, boxes of signed forms must be retained, sorted and shipped to various branches, creating a headache for both call centers and FIs.
There’s also the matter of mailing paper forms to customers and waiting for return copies or emailing the documents and risking exposure of personal information (secure mail routines, while advisable, add yet another layer of passwords and friction).
By contrast, a link sent via text during the course of a phone conversation allows a documented transaction to be completed in real-time, without the need to route the paperwork to reside in a Banker’s Box in the recesses of some branch, where it might be located if the need ever arose.
Whether improving basic processes or powering a digital-first medium to deepen engagement with current and prospective customers alike, eReceiptsPlus offers an easy-to-implement, easy-to-communicate way for FIs to modernize operations.