Article Examples
BankBulb Article Example DBS promotes their predictive and proactive intelligent banking digital solutions Singapore
December, 2020
This new ad placed in The Straits Times on 3 December 2020 highlights the bank's strategic focus on developing intelligent banking digital solutions for personal and business banking customers. In September 2020 DBS announced a "doubling down on its Intelligent Banking capabilities across the bank’s digital banking services, at a time when Singaporeans are not only shifting to, but also sticking with, their mobile phones and online platforms for everyday banking and wealth management needs." New features continue to be progressively rolled out with Intelligent Banking capabilities combining predictive analytics and customer-centric design to transform data into hyper-personalised, intuitive – and unintrusive – insights intended to simplify the way customers manage their finances and investments. Referenced in this ad are the following features: Budget analysis and recommendation for savings, ForEx rate alerts and overseas supplier payments. Ban k Bul b o pi nion : The pandemic has obviously acted as an accelerator for digital adoption by consumers. While the move to digital will surely continue to increase, banks can't take it for granted that some customers won't revert to their previous channel preferences. To help ensure continued growth in digital adoption, banks should not only be offering customers simple, quick, convenient digital interactions but will also need to invest in marketing. With the roll out of new features and capabilities there is a need to build awareness of the options open to customers, to share the successful experiences of new digital customers, as well as to support vulnerable customers or those that still do not feel at ease using digital channels (see this Lloyds Bank ad as an example). This DBS ad not only addresses these points, but additionally helps establish consumer trust with the copy highlighting being "The World's Best, Three Years In A Row." Trust is vital for seizing revenue opportunities arising from digital advisory services. Those services that help customers with fee-reduction recommendations, budgeting tools, savings management, and planning tools to help customers achieve their life goals.
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BankBulb Article Example Lunar creates compelling solution for banks and customers as alternative to Buy Now, Pay Later Denmark
December, 2020
Lunar, a Danish neobank granted their banking license in August 2019, has come up with Pay Later, a post-purchase credit option and intriguing response to the Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) offerings from brands like Klarna, Zip, Afterpay, Laybuy, Alma. BNPL while experiencing tremendous growth is experiencing growing concern for being a broadly unregulated area of consumer credit and for the potential debt customers of some BNPL providers may be accumulating. But, with BNPL proving so popular to younger audiences in particular, banks have needed to consider their strategy for dealing with this threat to their market share and credit card business. Through 2020 we’ve witnessed a number of banks and credit providers react to BNPL, either choosing to partner with a BNPL brand (for example CommBank & Klarna) or introduce their own installment credit and loan versions (for example: ICICI Bank’s PayLater, PayPal’s Pay in 3, CIBC’s Pace It, Amex’s Pay It Plan It) or even as in the case with Capital One to block BNPL credit card transactions. Now, with Lunar’s Pay Later we see a proposition that should prove compelling to consumers and banks. Available to customers who deposit more than 2,000 kr. (€270) into their account each month, Pay Later enables customers to select any payment they have made up to 30 days prior, and choose to postpone the payment up to 10,000 kr to the following month or split it over 3, 6 or 12 months. Customers will then receive the funds into their account straight away and be charged a fixed price (equivalent to about 22% APR) for using Pay Later. Ban k Bul b o pi nion : There are multiple advantages for both the bank and customers with this offering. First, Pay Later is integrated within the bank, so the customer relationship is maintained, which also provides the bank opportunity to offer proactive advice. Second, the user experience is simplified with the customer able to control every aspect of Pay Later from within the bank’s app. Third, Pay Later is applicable to all types of transactions, even including utility bills and car payments. Fourth, the bank charges a simple fee for the service, which also benefits the user with a transparent customer experience.
BankBulb Article Example Mogo highlights their new bitcoin rewards program and emphasises brand trust as consumer interest soars in uncertain economic environment Canada
December, 2020
Mogo has released a new ad for their Bitcoin trading functionality. MogoCrypto was introduced in 2018 but this ad's timing is based on several contemporary updates (which are referenced in the ad) and the increased awareness and credibility of bitcoin, likely driven by the current uncertain economic environment and accelerated digitization of the global economy. Mogo itself reported 135% increase in bitcoin transaction volume in November 2020. First of the primary messages in the ad is the fact that the supply of bitcoin is limited to 21 million. As time keeps ticking and more bitcoin is mined, naturally there will be increased sense of urgency and speculation. As of August 2020, around 18.5 million bitcoin have been mined; this leaves less than three million that have yet to be introduced into circulation. Mogo also points out that they are the only
company that is both FINTRAC regulated and publicly traded on the TSX and NASDAQ. This fact gives prospective customers a sense of trust and assurance that Mogo is the most reputable platform through which to buy and sell bitcoin. The third key message in the ad is Mogo's new Rewards Program. The November 2020 launch of a bitcoin rewards program offering Canadians more ways to ‘stack sats’ by providing members with the opportunity to earn and win bitcoin through this new program. Stacking sats is a term commonly used within the bitcoin community to describe the act of regularly accumulating bitcoin. “Sats” is short for satoshis, the smallest unit of bitcoin (BTC). Ban k Bul b o pi nion : The value proposition offered by Mogo is excellent, from the rewards program to the app usability to establishing the brand trust. Banks broadly remain sceptical about of the need to offer cryptocurrencies, partly because of security and partly because there is not yet a large enough percentage of the population interested. However BBVA in Spain is reported to be about to launch a crypto offering so if digital currencies continue to grow in consumer interest and start to become more mainstream we may see more offerings launched in 2021. That aside, the brand friction for Mogo and other FIs is, at a time when helping consumers overcome economic challenges will be an acute need, how to balance promoting the trading (not investing) of cryptocurrencies with their broader message of responsible finance.
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BankBulb Article Example TSB renew advertising for their Fraud Refund Guarantee, being the only bank that’s refunded 100% of fraud victims UK
December, 2020
Set against the backdrop of an increase in financial fraud, accelerated over the pandemic through a greater consumer move to online banking and mobile transactions, TSB has wisely renewed advertising for their TSB Fraud Refund Guarantee. We originally highlighted their Fraud Refund Guarantee when it launched in April 2019. As we stated at the time, "the move will help reassure customers who are naturally fearful of the growing problem of bank fraud in the digital age." As of December 2020, this is an ever more powerful customer proposition. Through the Fraud Refund Guarantee TSB commits to protecting against all types of transactional fraud losses up to £1m per claim, including cases where TSB customers have been tricked into authorising payments to fraudsters. Ban k Bul b o pi nion : We all know customers are increasingly concerned with financial fraud. Most consumers have a general feeling of trust that their bank is working on their behalf to keep their data safe. Many banks have investing in mass-media advertising campaigns to reinforce their brand's commitment to keeping customer data safe - examples in addition to TSB include campaigns from CIBC, CommBank, RBS. However, the majority of fraud campaigns place the emphasis on educating customers of how to avoid becoming the victim of fraud. While this is perfectly well-intentioned it lays open the reasoning for TSB's proposition, which is underlined in what should prove a really impactful statistic from this TSB ad (one that will surely shock readers) that the industry-wide reimbursement rate is just 38%. This fact combined with newspaper headlines such as the one below from The Financial Times on 12 August 2020, should play to TSB's advantage in trying to convince consumers to switch to TSB.
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BankBulb Article Example Discovery Bank shows why its Shared Value concept makes it a bank like no other South Africa
January, 2021
Discovery Bank has released a new multi-media campaign focused on their unique concept in banking and the foundation of the Bank - that it is no ordinary bank, it is a shared-value bank. The Bank's unique way of incentivising, measuring and rewarding client's financial behaviours is inspired by the Discovery Group’s Vitality Shared-Value Insurance model - encouraging customers to be financially healthy and rewarding them for their efforts through its Vitality Money rewards program. Customers are incentivized to make shrewd financial choices to help them advance through the bank’s Vitality status levels – meaning the better they are at maintaining strong financial health, the more they are rewarded. These rewards vary from dynamic interest rates to flight and gym discounts. Firoze Bhorat, Chief Marketing Officer at Discovery, says, 'Discovery Bank is...essentially creating a new category of banking around shared-value to make a real difference in our clients' lives as well as in society; consistent with our core purpose of making people healthier and enhancing and protecting their lives. This new campaign...highlights every aspect of how Discovery Bank shares continual value with clients in meaningful ways.' The headline TV spot of the new campaign unpacks shared-value as a concept in banking. It visually displays how its technology, its behaviour-change platform and its personalised services and features converge to create a shared-value bank. The campaign also used a range of shorter adverts to focus on specific rewards and features. As a whole, the campaign highlights how shared-value banking coupled with world-class digital banking platform enables Discovery Bank to quantify and monetise the value of lower financial risk and return this to banking clients in the form of real financial gains, whether they be better interest rates on credit borrowing and savings, or unprecedented discounts at partners and Discovery Miles rewards. 'Our clients have the tools to manage their money well through Vitality Money and they know that by managing their money well, they become more financially resilient.' says Bhorat. The headline TV spot (watch here) will be supported through radio, digital and OOH. Discovery Bank launched in 2019 calling itself the “World First Behavioural Bank.”
TV spot screenshots demonstrating 'Shared Value' with the Bank increasing savings interest rates and decreasing credit interest rates based on customer behaviours
Ban k Bul b o pi nion : Changing consumer behaviour is never easy. Often, people require compelling incentives to adjust their lifestyle choices for the better. These days, digital tools that allow people to track their fitness levels, dietary habits, sleeping patterns and more have proliferated globally, increasing individual awareness of how good habits can positively influence their overall well-being. Coupling improved lifestyle routines with financial well-being has become increasingly entrenched in health and life insurance through global programs like Vitality, so taking this behavioural nudging concept into the banking sphere is a fascinating next-stage and opportunity to increase financial literacy and confidence. We are confident that 2021 will be the year we start to see a marked increase in banking solutions tied to health and wellness. Some examples - that we've previously highlighted on BankBulb - include recent launches of Axis Bank Aura credit card and YES Bank Wellness credit card and Emirates NBD's coupling of a customer's savings interest rate with the customer's fitness activity.
BankBulb Article Example NatWest new open banking Housemate app facilitates payments and helps users build their credit profile UK
December, 2020
NatWest is currently testing an app called Housemate that they expect to launch nationwide next year. Housemate is an app which aims to smooth out some of the problems - usually involving paying rent ,deposit and bills - when renting a property with other people. It is certainly not the first app built for this task, but it does introduce some original ideas. Using Open Banking Housemate can help make payments between users easier as each house member doesn't need to be a NatWest customer to use Housemate. They simply need to have a UK bank account. The app will then keep on top of things with automated reminders and easy expense settling features to help renters avoid any disagreements.
Snapshots from Housemate website
Housemate also has an innovative feature that allows users to build their credit history, which could help build their credit score with Experian, by getting recognition for your rental payments. The majority of people expected to use Housemate would be young people, including very often students, with little to no credit history. The app therefore helps educate them on the benefits of building a good credit score with numerous tips in the 'Build' section of the app and gets them started on the path towards building a good credit profile. Ban k Bul b o pi nion : This free app represents a marketing and engagement tool for NatWest. It’s a customer proposition going beyond banking to address customer needs, helping customers (and noncustomers) simplify payment activities and improving their financial position. While no immediate financial benefit for NatWest it should work towards establishing a more collaborative, trust-based, win-win relationship with customers over the mid-long term.
Screenshots from introductory video
BankBulb Article Example Digit points out all the problems with today's investing tools and explains how Digit's new robo-investing solution solves them USA
December, 2020
Digit, which started in 2014 offering automatic savings and budgeting solutions for customers has steadily added more tools and functionality, and now introduced an investing component. Understanding that many people instinctively feel wary of investing due to perceived complexities and risk, Digit is at pains to stress how they have simplified the investing process – from starting to managing – as much as possible. In a blog posting announcing the launch Digit explains the problems with today's investing tools as: 1. They work best with predictable disposable income. That's likely to exclude many Americans, especially now, as Gallup shows 28% of Americans fear a reduction in pay. 2. They don't consider people's full financial picture. Investing tools don't know what you can afford to invest and don't look at other goals like reducing debt. 3. They feel too complicated for first-time investors. 46% of Americans aren’t investing because they don’t know enough to get started (AssetMark). What's worse, new investors have to figure out the right amount to invest on their own. As a solution to the above “problems” Digit’s new service will periodically invest customers' extra cash in either an individual Retirement account and/or a long-term Investment account set up to meet the goal(s) set out by the customer. It does this by analysing customer income and spending patterns, looks at all their goals, and then intelligently moving the money to either the Retirement and/or an Investing account automatically. Digit’s service is meant to make saving for retirement and other long-term investing goals painless. For Retirement, Digit sets up an IRA that invests in Vanguard funds that match the customer’s risk preferences. Digit puts money aside and invests it in the retirement account. Because there are tax implications to withdrawing money from a retirement account, the money is only invested in the IRA once a month, and the customer is alerted beforehand. For goals Investment account, the customer answers a question about risk tolerance from 3 choices: conservative, moderate, aggressive, and also sets any investing goals they have, such as buying a house, going on vacation, etc. Digit monitors the customer’s bank accounts and determines how much they can afford to contribute while still paying their regular bills and meeting other goals. Digit sets aside small sums of money each day for the long-term investments, placing funds directly into BlackRock exchange-traded funds (ETFs) every few days. “We purposely made this very simple,” states Elena Gorman, product marketing lead at Digit. Gorman, “We've heard from members there's this experience of a paralysis of choice when it comes to investing and it ends up leaving people out of the stock market.” “The thinking behind that is that if you need that cash, you can take it out at that moment and not have it sent off to a portfolio,” Gorman said.
BankBulb Article Example ICICI Bank unveils first app in India that offers payments and banking services without needing to be a customer India
December, 2020
ICICI Bank has transformed its mobile banking app, iMobile, into an app that offers payments and banking services to customers of any bank. Called iMobile Pay, the app offers a unique combination of facilities of a payment app — such as enabling customers to pay to any UPI (Unified Payments Interface) ID or merchants, pay bills and do online recharges among others — with instant banking services namely savings account, investments, loans, credit cards, gift cards, and travel cards, along with other banking services. The users of iMobile Pay can also transfer money to any bank account, payment app and digital wallet.
Another prominent feature of iMobile Pay is ‘pay to contacts' that enable users to automatically see the UPI IDs of their phone book contacts, registered on the ICICI Bank UPI ID network, of any payment app and digital wallet. This unique functionality provides users a significant convenience of inter-operability, as they no longer have to remember the UPI IDs and can easily transfer money across payment app and digital wallet. A first-of-its-kind facility in India, iMobile Pay extends the ambit of mobile banking apps which are hitherto restricted to only the customers of the respective banks. At the same time, iMobile Pay eliminates the need to maintain multiple apps — be payments or banking — as it empowers customers to undertake all transactions. In the process, it also offers compelling reasons for users to link their multiple bank accounts to this app.
Ban k Bul b o pi nion : As in the case of DBS Bank which also launched this month the ability for all Singaporean residents to access their banking and payment services without needing to be a customer, this represents an incomparable opportunity to demonstrate the bank's qualities and features, without requiring prospective customers to go through the perceived hassle of switching banks, but should ultimately help ICICI Bank gain new account sign ups across product lines.
BankBulb Article Example Westpac now able to block abusive messages sent via payment transactions Australia
February, 2021
Westpac has announced new measures to make digital banking safer for customers, including giving customers the ability to report abusive messages via online and mobile banking, and blocking inappropriate language from outgoing payments. The changes have been introduced in response to the growing issue of digital payment channels being used as alternate messaging services to send abuse and threats via the description and reference fields in payment transactions. To help protect both the sender and receiver, Westpac has made the following updates for payment transactions: I n bou nd pay me nts • Westpac is starting to roll out a new tool enabling customers to report abuse and harassment received in payments transaction descriptions. • Customers will be able to click a report button within Westpac’s online and mobile banking platforms to have offensive messaging flagged and sent to a dedicated team for review and action. • During the review process, Westpac will consider further action against abuse, such as warning the customer or notifying the sender’s financial institution. O u t bou nd pay ments • Westpac has deployed technology to monitor outgoing payments sent through its online and mobile banking platforms, which blocks certain transactions containing inappropriate or offensive language in real time. • Customers will be notified if their outgoing transaction contains inappropriate language from a set list of terms and have their payment stopped. The language will need to be removed for the payment to be accepted and processed. Westpac is also conducting advanced data analysis for both inbound and outbound payments to help detect more subtle threats and patterns of abuse in messages. If abusive behaviour is identified, it will be escalated to the support team for response. Customers not acting in line with Westpac’s policy for acceptable behaviour will be warned and if necessary, exited from the bank. Ban k Bul b n o te: This news follows similar implementation that we highlighted from Westpac competitor CommBank in June 2020 (and/or see page 3). CommBank then extended its support for people impacted by financial abuse as a result of domestic and family violence, with the launch of Next Chapter; a new program that brings a range of services, support, resources and research to the market. also ran a campaign 'Next Chapter' promoting the initiative (see accompanying campaign here and/or next page).
Westpac Payment Messages Guide - PDF
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