In recent years, messaging has become the go-to method for customers to communicate with brands, with SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, and Facebook Messenger being the top channels of choice. In fact, according to G2, a whopping 85% of customers prefer messaging a business over interacting via emails or phone calls; and a recent study by Link Mobility revealed the number of people sending and receiving text messages is expected to grow to 5.9 billion by 2025.
This trend hasn’t skipped the financial industry. From banks to insurance companies, these businesses not only deal with rising customer expectations regarding communication, but also with new security-related issues.
How can financial organisations manage these challenges to stay on top of their messaging game? I spoke with Borja Garcia, Product Manager at BT, to learn more and see how Smart Messaging from BT can help.
Finance and Messaging: The Bumps in the Road
“Speaking to customers in the finance industry, we notice recurring challenges that keep them from achieving a messaging strategy that’s both secure and engaging,” Garcia shares.
Here are the key challenges BT identify:
Smishing Fraud: ‘Smishing,’ as the name implies, is phishing fraud conducted via SMS, and it’s become a real risk for financial businesses.
“These are messages designed to maliciously obtain customers’ sensitive information by pretending to come from well-known, trustworthy brands or institutions,” Garcia explains.
Maintaining Trust: Customer trust is key for any business, but when it comes to the finance industry, it becomes crucial due to the amount of money and private information involved along with regulatory requirements.
“Trust has to be established and maintained through all communication channels, especially the newer ones,” Garcia says. “But with fraud rising, businesses are finding it harder and harder to achieve.”
Compliance: Operating in a highly regulated environment, financial institutions must keep up with strict rules and regulations on a regular basis.
“In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires them to share certain information with customers in a timely manner – otherwise, they might get fined.”
Personalisation: With customers’ growing use of messaging channels to communicate with financial businesses, personalisation expectations soar – but meeting them is a struggle for many.
“According to recent statistics, 78% of customers would continue using their bank if they received personalised support,” Garcia notes. “However, only 44% are delivering it.”
BT Smart Messaging: Engaging, Rich, Secure
Smart Messaging by BT offers a comprehensive set of features to help financial institutions manage their engagement securely while meeting current customer expectations.
These features can be particularly transformative for the finance industry:
Verification: Channels such as RCS enable sender verification using a tick symbol. The brand verification process, subject to a stringent UK-wide policy overseen by carriers, helps enhance fraud prevention – making it ideal for financial institutions.
“When a bank adopts RCS and receives a tick symbol, all mobile network operators across the UK will have carried out verification checks to ensure messages truly come from it. This significantly reduces the risk of fraud and spam,” Garcia explains.
With over 1 billion monthly users around the world and impressive click-through rates, RCS also improves customer engagement and satisfaction levels.
Timely and Personalised Notifications: Smart Messaging allows the customising of messages for specific customers, as well as sending them at the right time for optimal CX. But there’s more: by sharing certain information with customers in a timely manner, financial organisations can more easily comply with FCA requirements.
“If a customer is going into their overdraft, for instance – a bank must share it with them on time so they can avoid unnecessary charges,” Garcia notes.
Reliability and Compliance: BT’s service is powered through connections to all major UK mobile networks and trusted international gateways.
“This means organisations using Smart Messaging can rest assured that messages always reach their destination safely, with inbuilt compliance to data protection regulations.”
To learn more about Smart Messaging and how you can use it to streamline and future-proof customer communications, visit the BT website or email their Smart Messaging team at [email protected].
