PREPAID CARDS IN THE SMARTPHONE AGE: MOBILE STRATEGIES FOR CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

Transcription

1 PREPAID CARDS IN THE SMARTPHONE AGE: MOBILE STRATEGIES FOR CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT 2010 Mercator Advisory Group, Inc. Clock Tower Place, Suite 420 Maynard, MA phone: 1(781) July

2 Contents Welcome to the Age of Mobile Financial Services... 3 How Do People Use Mobile Apps for Financial Services Today?... 3 Mobile Apps Are Necessary to Compete... 5 Mobile Strategies for Prepaid Programs... 6 How can prepaid providers add robust mobile apps to their programs?

3 Welcome to the Age of Mobile Financial Services Smartphones have given prepaid card providers a new tool for engaging customers, cutting costs, and dealing with competitors. Whether the provider is a bank, credit union, third-party program manager, cell phone company, or an alternative financial services provider, it must consider how its prepaid program connects to the cardholders smartphones. By putting the power of the Internet into their owners pockets and augmenting that power with applications, smartphones have become the center of many individuals electronic lives. According to research by the Pew Research Center, two-thirds of cell phone owners in the United States say they use their phones to go online, and one third of all cell phone owners say that their phones are their primary method for accessing the Internet. i Prepaid providers must figure out how to integrate mobile services into their programs. As of June 2013, Mercator Advisory Group s CustomerMonitor Survey Series shows that 55% of Americans own smartphones. That is up from 42% in In addition, 43% of Americans own Web-enabled tablets. This technology crosses all demographics and gives both cardholders and providers a whole new set of tools for managing prepaid cards. For many prepaid cardholders the smartphone is their primary or only tool for electronic communications, including the Internet. Mobile tools for financial services run the gamut from balance tracking to payments technology. While tools such as balance inquiries can be handled with text messages, to truly provide benefits for customers, be competitive in the market, and cut costs for the provider, a mobile app needs to be robust. The mobile apps available today have the basics covered, and customers expect the ability to engage with their financial service providers through their mobile devices. How Do People Use Mobile Apps for Financial Services Today? Mobile apps for financial services began with basic services like balance inquiry services that could be delivered to any phone via text message. The smartphone gave people access to the Internet while they were on the go, and that allowed for online banking anywhere, not just in front of a computer. Figure 2 shows how banking activities traditionally done at computers such as checking balances have moved to mobile phones, and how customers are looking for information as needed, such as finding a convenient ATM, by using their mobile phones. These examples just scratch the surface of what mobile applications can do, and as customers get used to the tools available to them, they will begin using their phones to do things like transfer money and pay bills. For prepaid customers, additional tools like being able to deposit a paycheck or pay a bill using their mobile phones can be critical for managing their finances and maintaining liquidity. 3

4 Figure 2: How People Use Mobile Apps Today Banking Activities to Manage Account Information by Mobile, (Base = All) Check account balances, transactions, statements 17% 25% By mobile phone (2013) By mobile phone (2012) Search for a convenient ATM or branch location 12% 20% Source: Mercator Advisory Group CustomerMonitor Survey Series, Payments, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 A feature-rich mobile application can enable a prepaid cardholder to load money to a card, cash a check to a card, send money to others, pay bills, top up mobile phone minutes, and manage money more closely. For the prepaid consumer, a mobile app saves the time and hassle of visiting multiple providers for different services like check cashing, bill payments, and sending money. Prepaid card program managers, financial institutions, mobile network operators, and alternative financial services providers such as check cashers have all launched card programs. At the center of many of these programs are mobile apps. These apps encourage cardholders to keep their cards and use them by making it easier to load and manage the cards and by providing tools like the ones mentioned above that can turn the smartphone into something resembling a full-service bank branch. Investing in the mobile app pays returns for the provider because it can provide a self-service channel that reduces customer service costs, load friction, and the need for maintaining a physical presence. The inclusion of mobile apps on prepaid programs of all types means that a robust mobile application is a competitive necessity. 4

5 Mobile Apps Are Necessary to Compete A mobile strategy is a must for any prepaid program that wants to compete in today s marketplace. All of the major prepaid players have mobile apps that offer a variety of services to their cardholders. American Express has built out advanced applications around its Serve prepaid card. It has also made Serve the exclusive prepaid card for the Isis mobile wallet. What this shows is that American Express is building a mobile presence, whether through its own apps or someone else s mobile app. Of course, American Express is not alone. Green Dot, RushCard, and others all have their own mobile apps to engage customers. Table 1 shows some of the capabilities offered by mobile apps currently. Table 1: Mobile App Capabilities of Major Program Managers Card Account Management Card-to-Card Transfer Remittance Locator Service Check-to-Card Fund Loading Personal Financial Management (PFM) Social Media Link American Express Serve Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Green Dot Transaction view only No No Yes No No No USBank Contour Yes No No Yes No No No GoBank Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes, build a budget No RushCard Yes Yes No Yes No No No Navy Federal Credit Union Visa Buxx Yes Yes No Yes No Online only Yes *GoBank, a mobile bank account offering, is a product of Green Dot Bank, which is a division of Green Dot Corp. Source: Mercator Advisory Group Research, Company Apps, Web Sites Banks and credit unions are using mobile as a tool for both regular account holders and the prepaid card customers in their portfolios. Table 1 shows the features and functions that Navy Federal Credit Union supplies for its prepaid card mobile apps. The features and functions of Green Dot GoBank app are shown by way of comparison. GoBank is a bank account that uses mobile as the cornerstone of the customer relationship. As prepaid mobile apps get more advanced and offer more features, the prepaid card is becoming the off-line spending tool for what is essentially a mobile financial relationship. 5

6 Mobile Strategies for Prepaid Programs The competitive case for developing a mobile strategy is clear. Prepaid providers of all types banks, credit unions, program managers, etc. operate in a mobile environment and need to engage their customers in a way that takes advantage of the multiple channels their cardholders use. The need to engage cardholders is clear, but it must be done in the proper context. Answering three main questions can understand what an effective application needs to have. 1. What do customers need to do with their cards and the mobile application? Prepaid cards are used to fill a variety of needs from checking account replacements to payroll to budgeting to incentives. Depending on how the card is used, different tools may be necessary. A card used as a budgeting tool might need to be tied to a personal financial management service, while a card used for a checking account replacement might need remote deposit capture for checks. Cards used for incentives might include a point tracker to help steer customer behavior to desired methods. The original intent of the program (payroll, incentive, etc.) can go a long way toward answering this question. At the same time, though, providers should pay attention to what is happening with their cards in terms of use patterns, customer services calls, and requests from cardholders. Incorporating back-end analytics to monitor and track mobile app behavior can be very useful for developing targeted marketing and incentives that encourage app usage. Occasional customer surveys and focus groups also can be valuable for engaging the customer and updating the design of the applications. 2. What features can be used to engage the customer most effectively? This is subtly different than the first question on necessary features and functions. For example, card balances are a necessary and popular feature for customers. How cardholders get that information, however, can increase their engagement with their cards and thus increase the profitability of the program. For example, providers can use push notifications for automatic balance updates to reduce customer service calls. The automatic update will be cheaper to deliver. It also means the cardholders know how much money they have, making them less fearful of using their cards. For example, when balances are in question, a cardholder is more likely to withdraw cash at an ATM for spending, rather than use the card as a spending tool. Other features that might engage a customer are those which are not strictly necessary for day-to-day use but provide a service that cardholders need. For example, savings accounts or mobile top-ups are not required to manage one s day-to-day finances, but they can keep customers around longer, especially if they are easy to use via a mobile application. 3. Do I have flexibility to adapt to changing technologies and cardholder behavior? Technology and cardholder behavior both evolve continuously, often in response to each other. In developing a mobile strategy, prepaid providers should keep this in mind and make sure a certain amount 6

7 of flexibility is built into their technology and features and functions. Once a program offers basic services, it can build on those in a modular way by adding new capabilities as the prepaid provider learns from its customers what problems an enhanced mobile app can solve for its cardholders. Once the strategy is in place, the next step is implementation. How can prepaid providers add robust mobile apps to their programs? Prepaid program managers have three primary choices when it comes to giving their cardholders a mobile app. They can build one internally, they can buy one from a supplier or they can partner with a vendor. The pros and cons of each are explored in more depth below. 1. Build the app internally If a program manager chooses to build its own app internally, then he or she can decide which features and functions to include. The company can control the look and the feel of the application as well as retain the freedom to make updates and changes when it deems them necessary. However, this option requires having the technical expertise to build a quality application (which is not something that a program manager can have built by a hobbyist within the ranks). The program manager must devote resources to developing and updating the app. Finally, building an application in-house requires an ongoing investment of time and resources. 2. Buy the app from a supplier A program manager can eliminate much of the work and some of the expense of building an application by licensing one from a supplier. This option gives the program manager the ability to control the application in-house. The program manager can decide which features and functions to include within the limits of the software licensed. Licensing the app can shorten development time for an application. However, this option restricts the program manager to working within the limits of the software that runs the app. 3. Partner with a vendor The program manager can work with a vendor to provide a customized mobile app to its cardholders. Working with a vendor can help a program manager deploy an app quickly, and it leaves the work of development and updates to the vendor. The program manager needs to take care to ascertain that the vendor can supply all of the features and functions that the cardholders will need. It also needs to make sure that the platform is flexible enough for future changes and can be white labeled. All of these approaches can be found in the programs listed in Table 1. Green Dot Corporation built the GoBank mobile app internally, using the assets it acquired when it purchased Loopt, a geolocation technology company, in ii The GoBank application, being a cornerstone of GoBank s value as a branchless bank, was an essential part of its business strategy and the company chose to retain as much control over the process as possible. Although part of the same corporation, the Green Dot mobile application was instead purchased 7

8 from an outside vendor in order to leverage expertise. American Express has adopted a hybrid approach by having its own apps and by working with Isis as an outside partner. For Navy Federal Credit Union, working with a vendor has proven to be the best approach. It has worked with Cachet Financial Solutions to offer a multifeatured mobile app tailored to its cardholders needs. The Navy Federal Credit Union card is focused on teenagers, so the mobile app is integrated with social media, whereas a bill payment function was not necessary, although it could have been included. Table 1 is not a comprehensive list of all of the features and functions that can be supplied through a mobile app. For example, American Express has a set-aside account in its mobile app to help people build up savings. Cachet offers services like instant cash-back rewards, mobile airtime top-ups, and mobile chat for customer service. Program managers should continually evaluate their mobile strategy on three levels. The first is customer needs. What features and functions will help ensure that customers are satisfied and continue to load money and use the prepaid card? The second is competitive positioning. What are other card suppliers and financial service providers offering? How can the mobile app help to outmaneuver them? It may be that a comparable app is what is needed, or it may be that an app needs to offer additional features to best the competition. The third is internal operations. How can the mobile app help internal operations through providing customer data, reducing customer service costs, and simplifying operations in the back office? Once these questions are answered, a program manager can begin mapping out a mobile strategy that will help retain customers, win new ones, and manage the business. A well-structured strategy can determine whether it is better to build, buy, or partner. It also will help identify how best to implement the plans that have been made. Endnotes i. Susannah Fox and Lee Rainie, The Web at 25 in the U.S. Pew Research Internet Project, Feb. 27, ii. James Daly, Green Dot s New Mobile App Could Crack a Few Bluebird Eggs, Digital Transactions, January 15, Copyright Notice External publication terms for Mercator Advisory Group information and data: Any Mercator Advisory Group information that is to be used in advertising, press releases, or promotional materials requires prior written approval from the appropriate Mercator Advisory Group research director. A draft of the proposed document should accompany any such request. Mercator Advisory Group reserves the right to deny approval of external usage for any reason. Copyright 2014, Mercator Advisory Group, Inc. Reproduction without written permission is completely forbidden. 8

9 About Mercator Advisory Group Mercator Advisory Group is the leading independent research and advisory services firm exclusively focused on the payments and banking industries. We deliver pragmatic and timely research and advice designed to help our clients uncover the most lucrative opportunities to maximize revenue growth and contain costs. Our clients range from the world's largest payment issuers, acquirers, processors, merchants and associations to leading technology providers and investors. Services include Banking Channels, Credit, Commercial and Enterprise Payments, Debit, Emerging Technologies, International, and Prepaid practices, which provide research documents and advice; CustomerMonitor Survey Series, which report and analyze primary data collected in our biannual consumer surveys; and Consulting Services, which enable clients to gain actionable insights, implement more effective strategies, and accelerate go-to-market plans; offerings include tailored project-based expertise, customized primary research, go-to-market collateral, market sizing, competitive intelligence, and payments industry training. Mercator Advisory Group is also the publisher of the online payments and banking news and information portal PaymentsJournal.com. Visit About Cachet Financial Solutions Cachet Financial Solutions is a leading provider of cloud-based SaaS mobile money management and remote deposit capture (RDC) solutions for banks, credit unions and other financial organizations. Remote deposit and mobile money technologies are changing business and personal banking forever. And thanks to our leading industry platform, Cachet has simplified the process for delivering, implementing and servicing these innovative solutions. The company has recently created the Select Mobile Money prepaid mobile platform for financial institutions and alternative financial providers looking to mobilize their existing card program, or develop a new program complete with GPR card and mobile app. Either way, the feature-rich mobile app includes an array of convenient services such as account management, remittance, card-to-card transfer, airtime top up, and expedited bill pay options. It also provides a white label solution in a customizable and scalable platform that offers powerful cardholder analytics, a trusted partner network, and push notification that can help engage cardholders. For more information on Cachet or our Select Mobile Money prepaid mobile solution, please info@cachetfinancial.com, or visit 9