Moving Beyond Free Checking With Value-added Credit Report Monitoring
ATLANTA-Free checking has become a matter of competitive parity, meaning providers must add value to the checking product to retain and strengthen these relationships going forward, according to a recent survey by Synergistics Research Corp.
The study, "Strategies for Differentiating Checking Accounts," found offering a service that consumers value, such as credit report monitoring, as a checking account feature can be a valuable differentiator in a highly competitive market.
The national telephone survey was conducted with 1,000 consumers age 18 or older. All survey respondents were read a description of a credit report monitoring service and were asked if they currently have this type of service. Slightly more than one-fifth report having the service. About one-tenth say they do not know if they have the service.
Next, all respondents were asked how valuable they find the credit report monitoring service to be. Overall, six in ten rate it as valuable, with close to one-third saying it is "very" valuable. Younger respondents (18-49) are more likely to value this service.
Those respondents who reported the credit report monitoring service would be valuable were asked how likely they would be to open a special checking account package in order to receive the service for free. Overall, more than four in ten said they would be likely to do so. One in six would be "very" likely to open a checking package in order to receive free credit report monitoring service. Again, younger respondents respond more strongly.
For info: www.synergisticsresearch.com
Analysis Reveals Counting Coins Can Be A Significant New Driver Of Fee Income
NEEDHAM, Mass.-Consumers are emptying their couches and ashtrays to the tune of $6 billion worth of change that they are bringing into their financial institution branches-and that represents a fee income opportunity for banks, according to a new study.
"If banks charged customers the same fee that retail locations charge for coin redemption, the service would represent a $500-million market for banking institutions," said TowerGroup in a new study, "Self-Service Coin Counting at the Branch: Time To Change Attitudes About Loose Change."
The firm said another $3 billion in coins is redeemed at supermarket machines alone, "generating a steady revenue stream of service fees as well as the opportunity to capture additional money from consumers while they are in store." "In the face of declining check volumes and increased focus on sales, banks must better leverage automation where appropriate to support the needs of both the customer as well as their own bottom line," the study said. "TowerGroup believes the self-service coin-counting machine can support a bank's critical business, operational, and marketing strategies-but only if it is implemented with the appropriate technology and process."
According to TowerGroup, assisting customers off-load the "idle" coins in their homes and pockets will become more relevant as consumers turn increasingly to non-cash payment alternatives like debit and prepaid cards. "The underlying technology of the self-service coin-counting machine has changed significantly since the initial deployments by banks, and today's devices deserve a second look by the banking industry as a service to themselves and their customers," the study suggests.
For info: www.towergroup.com.
