1to1 Magazine Demo

Bankinter Bankinter Gives Customers a New View of Online Service re contact center agents ready for their close-up? At Madridbased Bankinter, customers can now chat with agents and local branch employees via video chat on the company’s website. Bankinter treats the video communications as a whole new channel, complete with its own challenges. “We didn’t have resistance from our employees because we embrace innovation as a company, but this buy-in was difficult,” says Marciso Perales, head of business development. “The biggest change was that now our contact center representatives have to wear ties.” Customers have embraced the online tool, which debuted last October. So far this year Bankinter has hosted more than 100,000 video chats with customers, and about 10 percent of what the company considers “active” customers use the service. More than 85 percent of video chat users give the service high ratings. “Customers who go to the site tell us what product or service they’re interested in, and the system automatically routes them to the local branch or call center, depending on the nature of the transaction,” Perales says. For transactions that involve product sales, the video channel has a 25 percent higher conversion rate than traditional methods. SILVER a During the chat, employees can walk customers through the process of adding a new account or signing up for a new service. Customers see the documents they need to complete during the chat and receive a PDF copy to fill out and “We’re confident that we’re doing everything we can to make the work for our clients easier.” return. At the end of the interaction, customers can print the paperwork they’ve completed, just as if they’d visited a branch. Along with the video chat, Bankinter is also investing heavily in banking on cell phones and PDAs, trying to remain one of Spain’s leaders in new technology. “We’re confident that we’re doing everything we can to make the work for our clients easier,” Perales says. “With what we’re doing now, the wind is at our back.” —JN Akbank High Performance Delivered BRONZE “The easy access to financial operations free from time and space shortens the purchase and disbursement process.” card that they can use to withdraw the funds if approved. Since April 2007 when the program launched, Akbank has granted more than 50,000 loans via SMS alone, and expects mobile loans to account for 10 percent of its total volume going forward. “The SMS loan originations are very profitable,” Cora says, “and our success rate with new customer acquisition is very high, with more than 2 million applications coming through the channel.” Akbank is living up to its slogan of “Turkey’s Innovative Power” through these three initiatives. In addition to being seen as a technology leader, the bank saw an 80 percent growth rate on consumer loans in 2007, and increased its share of wallet from 50 percent to 65 percent. “We continue to provide the easiest and fastest service to our customers to make their lives easier,” Cora says. —JN t urkey’s Akbank aims to make tedious loan applications a thing of the past. The bank introduced three new loan application channels in the past year, and none involve interacting with a human being. Customers of the bank (and noncustomers who are citizens of Turkey) can apply for a loan via SMS message, special credit machines, and ATMs. “The easy access to financial operations free from time and space shortens the purchase and disbursement process,” says Meltem Cora, a senior vice president at Akbank. “It’s important to find a way to present consumer loans through mobile technologies that integrate with people’s daily lives.” The loan process through these new channels is simplified, and varies depending on customers’ chosen paths. They can text their citizenship number to an SMS short code, apply for a loan via any Akbank ATM and receive instant approval or denial, or stop by one of the bank’s new credit machines. The machines resemble an ATM, but for new customers the machine takes their photo, scans an ID card, allows them to sign for a loan, and dispenses a consumer loan September/October 2008 33 http://www.1to1media.com/View.aspx?ItemID=30794 http://www.1to1media.com/View.aspx?ItemID=30794

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of 1to1 Magazine Demo

1to1 Magazine Demo Contents 1to1media.com Editor's Note Feedback Putting Care in Patients' Hands Loyalty at Work Redefining the Contact Center Agent Introducing Enterprise 2.0 Cigna Dental Drills for Loyal Customers On the Beat 19 Ways to Succeed Miami Heat Schools Its Staff on Sales and Service Marketing Lends a Helping Hand More Than Meets the Eye Customer Service by Committiee Textron's Business Soars by Tracking Customer Loyalty Resources Contact Center Agent as Trusted Advisor Mastering Global CRM Face to Face with Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Ph.D.

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