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Credit card issuers should position themselves as advocates for their cardholders instead of waiting for strict new federal rules to be implemented, contends Ed Kountz, an analyst with Cambridge, Mass.-based consultancy Forrester Research Inc. In a commentary released May 6, Kountz explains that acting as advocates for cardholders starts with making it easier for them to understand the features and terms of their card accounts. For example, issuers should provide consumers with a variety of flexible payment options and account alerts that warn them of pending payments, approaching credit ceilings, potential fraud or other issues, Kountz says. Issuers also should avoid surprise charges and hidden fees, he says. And issuers should practice what Kountz terms "benevolence," in which they "align with the cardholder and try to approach problems from the cardholder's perspective." He cites USAA, an insurer, financial institution and credit card issuer founded for military members and veterans that consistently ranks high on Forrester cardholder satisfaction rankings. "Feedback from USAA customer-service reps led to a change in credit card-billing cycles, so payment-due dates now follow federal government pay cycles," Kountz writes. Kountz recognizes that his customer-service recommendations for issuers soon will become federal requirements anyway. "The fact that these changes are occurring makes it more important for issuers to consider what they can do proactively, whether it's right now or in the next few months," Kountz tells CardLine. "There really needs to be an effort to step back and say, 'How can we make the best of a situation and create an environment where we are more in line with our consumers' needs?"
