Last updated: 09 March 2015
2014 was the year of the data breach as we saw more breaches than ever before: 63,000 retail-related security incidents across 95 countries last year alone. While breaches are big news for retailers, they’re also big news for consumers and banks because of the credit and debit cards that need to be re-issued. A poll by the Wall Street Journal found that almost half of the American population received notification that their credit card was compromised last year.
With each data breach a new set of hassles arose. Long wait times, calls with customer service and switching automatic payments are a major inconvenience for cardholders. But they aren’t the only ones feeling the pain. Card issuing banks face the challenge of trying to re-issue a large number of cards very quickly. And even if issued properly some of the cards will be lost on the way to the customer, undelivered, or simply never activated.
Offering cardholders a chance to come into the branch to get their new card on the spot holds a lot of appeal. Your customer can select a PIN and doesn’t need to wait for it to arrive in the mail. which means the card is activated instantly. It’s fast, easy, and your customer doesn’t encounter the disruption of living without their debit card for very long.
Additionally, banks are given an opportunity to check in with their customers face-to-face, potentially selling additional banking products or services that the customer might have overlooked.
By integrating instant issuance into their branches, banks can ensure card re-issuance is quick and more painless than cardholders have come to expect. This gives banks a chance to connect with their customers in a very positive way at a time when customers’ need it the most, turning a negative experience into a positive, memorable one.
