Improve Retail Bank Collections with Self-Serve Solutions

Typically, late payments are a major impediment to cash flows. There was about $4.225 trillion in total outstanding consumer credit as of February 2020. The most cost-effective way to improve retail bank collections is to convince your customers to clear the outstanding amount.

So, what’s the best way to do this? The adoption of new channels like mobile payments, competition, regulation, digital transformation, and security are powering the self-service revolution.

Having self-serve payment solutions makes businesses look good. After all, it’s a customer-centric approach that lets customers pay when and where they are. It also helps the business keep a positive cash flow with fewer outstanding accounts.

VoiceSage offer smarter digital collection processes to deliver an enhanced financial performance and customer experience at lower cost-to-collect rates in a secure and convenient way. Here are the most important strategies to consider:

1. Be Proactive and Clear in Your Communication
2. Establish the Key Phases of the Collection Process
3. Use Different Channels and Approaches Depending on the Client

1. Be Proactive and Clear in Your Communication

Reinvent retail bank collection by choosing a cloud communication platform first.
A digital debt recovery solution can help companies streamline their collection processes and stay compliant, while enhancing customer satisfaction and recovery. VoiceSage’s digital solution transforms traditional debt collection practices and delivers great outcomes and superior customer experience for both debtors and customers.

On the one hand, it empowers today’s digitally savvy customers who are looking for self-serve options and delivers a proactive and enhanced customer experience. On the other, it reduces the cost to collect.

Proactive and clear communication via VoiceSage’s platform means you can personalize the message to resonate with your customers. Our platform is packed with smart features that makes it easy for customers to self-serve:

• Create branded webpage
• Payment plan options
• “Save the day” feature
• Intuitive customer journey
• Fully compliant debt collection process
• Live-agent availability to respond enquiries

2. Establish the Key Phases of the Retail Bank Collection Process

Like any other process or strategy, there are a few steps that need to be taken for the best collection result. We identified four stages in a collection process that are crucial to ensure timely collection, healthy cash flow, and positive customer relationships.

• Notification Phase

Notify your customer of their debt. There are various contact strategies that issuers use to notify people of debt, but not all of them are proactive. One of the major problems every customer has is that they receive un unreasonable amount of calls from collectors. In 2016, the average number of call attempts per day was 2.4.

VoiceSage has a better solution to ensure a more efficient process. Choose to send SMS alerts. Be sure that your message is sent promptly and includes all the information the customer needs to quickly make a payment. This would include order information, amount due, due date, agreed upon terms, and where/how they can pay.

• Confirmation Phase

Confirm that the SMS was successfully delivered. A brief follow-up call a few days after sending the outstanding alert message can help speed up the payment and serve as a customer service call. If you call to follow-up, you can help them submit the payment sooner. Our Interactive Voice Messaging solution is ideal to schedule outbound calls to remind customers of their overdue payments. Because it’s automated, your contact centre won’t spend their valuable time phoning people and will answer enquiries only if the customer requests to be transferred to an agent.

• Reminder Phase

Many customers may need a reminder or two before they get around to sending the payment. Most people want and mean to pay the invoice, but they forget, are having cash flow problems, lost the invoice, etc. A Rich Media Message (RMM) may be all they need. Be sure to send it before the payment is due. Unlike other types of communication like letters, calls and email, an RMM informs clients of debt at an early stage and gives them the option to pay instantly partially or in full.

VoiceSage’s Rich Media Messaging solution has smart features like “Save the Date” integration that allows customers to save recurring payments in their calendars. Another option is for customers to enter a payment plan if they can’t afford to pay the entire amount in one go.

• Inquiry Phase

Customers may inquire about a late payment. If your customer has still not submitted payment after the due date, something may be wrong. Don’t wait for customers to call you and ask information about their debt. According to McKinsey & Company, 57% of executives consider reducing call volumes their number one priority for the next five years.

Be proactive and schedule automated outbound calls, chatbots or text messaging to reduce inbound calls. VoiceSage’s channels are highly valuable to reduce calls and costs, as well as necessary investments for this generation of digital-first consumers.

3. Use Different Channels and Approaches Depending on the Client

Give customers the channel they prefer and match the channel to the customer’s challenge.
Not every customer wants to phone or email you. The addition of text messaging in collections was a way to adapt to consumer’s shift from traditional methods of contact. We are now on a digital transformation stage where customers are expected to have shorter, more intuitive journeys.

Some might prefer chatbots to SMS, some might prefer Rich Media Messaging to calling. A debt collector’s challenge to satisfy every customer request can be solved with VoiceSage’s optichannel platform that allows you to match the right channel to every customer’s preference and create fully personalized journeys to improve retail bank collections.

Understanding consumer behaviour in a digital world is critical to identify the preferred channel of communication. By embracing digital technologies like VoiceSage’s cloud communication platform, smart retail banking providers will see the opportunities of improving customer retention and added value.

Improve Retail Bank Collections with Voicesage’s Self-Serve Mobile Solutions

In our experience working with big finance and retail companies we saw how digital transformation and proactive communications help companies be successful by putting customer experience first. We are dedicated to help you build a communication strategy that helps you connect with all types of customers on their preferred communication channels.

We would love to speak with you to better understand your current business needs and discuss how our solutions can help you implement an effective retail bank collection strategy.