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Call Center Archives - POPi/o

Feb 01
1
Young African American woman on street looking smartphone

How to Capture and Service More Profitable Relationships in 2021

By | Blog, Video Banking | No Comments

For years, financial institutions have physically modernized their branch environments to direct customers out of transaction teller lines and into new self-service channels like ATMs and banking apps. The shift was designed to allow branch employees to capture and service revenue-producing activities like loans, investments, and business accounts. Some banks and credit unions executed this revenue-focused branch strategy even more efficiently by connecting customers via video to centrally located lending and other product knowledge experts.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered branches in nearly every community across the country and around the world. Without warning, financial institutions were forced to find new ways to capture and service those profitable relationships.

Most had already heavily invested in mobile banking apps, online applications, and highly experienced call center teams. Most thought these digital channels could replicate branch services. Most discovered that wasn’t the case.

POPi/o® experienced exponential growth in 2020, including a 283% increase in call volume. We credit that growth to many of our new clients, using video to fill that in-person service gap. These banks and credit unions didn’t invest in video banking technology as a leap of faith; long before the COVID-19 pandemic, our platform usage data had already revealed that revenue-generating activity represented more than three-fourths of total call volume. The percentage of video banking calls to support new accounts and lending compared to total video calls rose even further in 2020 to 80%.

Our 2020 user data also reveals that as branches have reopened and other delivery channels have improved, video banking usage remains high. In fact, as 2020 came to a close, video banking traffic continued to climb.

For financial institutions seeking additional new account and loan volume, this is great news. Video banking not only replaces branch service in a pinch, but it can also extend the reach of your in-person service to capture and service even more profitable relationships. This centralized operational strategy frees your most talented employees from being confined to a specific geographic location. Video banking allows your best employees to make the biggest impact on your organization, leveraging the efficiency and convenience of digital delivery to generate even more high-touch, revenue-generating activities.

Educators Credit Union is a perfect example of a financial institution that had modernized branches to include centralized lending via video banking but was forced to switch gears quickly when branches closed. Because Educators Credit Union needed to deliver face-to-face service to members quickly, the credit union first deployed video banking to its website, which only required pasting a few lines of code. After some marketing across social media platforms, website video banking traffic grew enough to convince Educators Credit Union that the next step—mobile video banking would be a profitable move.

Educators Credit Union deployed a standalone video banking mobile app, rather than integrating video banking into its existing mobile banking app. Nearly all POPi/o video banking clients deploy mobile video banking this way because it allows for more rapid deployment and provides availability to non-customers to connect for new business. In fact, financial institutions that have launched video banking through existing mobile banking app integrations have often later added a standalone app to capture new business.

Looking for other video banking best implementation practices? Our phenomenal 2020 growth and influx of new institutions live on our platform has provided a treasure chest of tips and strategies for creating and deploying a successful video banking. Download our 2021 Video Banking Implementation Guide here to begin. Then, when you’re ready, click here to talk to an expert.

To learn how POPi/o Video Banking can help your financial institutions maintain relevance and personal service, request a FREE demo.

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Aug 27
0
POPi/o Video Banking webinar

POPwelcome | The Newest Way to Engage Your Consumer

By | Webinar

POPwelcome is the best way to engage with your consumer through the digital channel of their choice, chat, voice, or video. Customer Service Representatives can then answer questions, co-browse webpages, and seamlessly transition the call to voice or video to elaborate on available products and services. See a demonstration and learn how this new feature can help you.

For more information about video banking, request a free demonstration.

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May 08
7
Woman sitting in airport terminal looking at smartphone

Centralizing Lending Delights Consumers and Lenders

By | Blog, Video Banking | No Comments

Only 26% of consumers prefer to conduct their financial business in a branch, according to a new study from global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. That’s down from 38% in 2016.

This change in consumer behavior fueled an all-time record of nearly 2,000 branches closed in 2018, according to S&P Global.

Don’t assume this trend is only being driven by routine transactions. Lending is also experiencing a service shift, moving from loan officers in every branch to a focused, centralized effort. And we’re not just talking about credit card applications. Even mortgage lenders are centralizing their operations.

Last fall, the $123 billion BMO Harris Bank eliminated most of its branch mortgage officer positions and now sends borrowers to a centralized mortgage call center and an online mortgage application platform.

Woman sitting in airport terminal looking at smartphone

Bankrate.com Chief Financial Analyst Greg McBride said mortgage loan officers simply aren’t being utilized in branches anymore. However, digital doesn’t necessarily mean an entirely online experience.

“The use of call centers or video conferencing centralizes the taking of applications and provides a human interaction in a more efficient manner than stationing someone in a branch,” he added.

That human interaction is key to a successful centralized lending effort. Loan officers are located in an efficient, single location, but are available to borrowers via phone or video. Consumers usually have the option to call in from home, work or while traveling … and, just in case a consumer visits a branch to apply for a loan, most financial institutions also offer video access from the branch, too.

Video-based lending teams also close the gap when it comes to online lending attrition rates. Community financial institutions have invested significant capital in online self-service account opening and loan application tools, only to be disappointed that 80% or more of applicants abandon the cart. Video Banking provides the engagement needed to identify a borrower who is struggling with the application process to assist them immediately with a click of a button…

Centralized lending also allows financial institutions to select the best employees for the job – those whose skill sets focus on the drive to sell and grow, rather than task-oriented branch responsibilities.

The more lenders can focus on just lending, the more skilled they become. Think about it – it’s difficult to be consistent when you only do something a couple of times a week. Due to low volume, in-branch lenders don’t have an opportunity to complete a variety of loans on a regular basis, which can sometimes lead to costly mistakes. A centralized team with higher volumes improves consistency, makes training easier, and allows for easier goal and improvement tracking.

Not only are loan officers more focused on their jobs, in many cases centralizing lending operations allows them to sit close to their underwriting and processing teams. Not only does this improve efficiency that allows for loan decisioning within 30 minutes or less, but it also provides a culture in which the entire team works together to achieve organizational loan growth goals.

FIs that have centralized their lending operations have the numbers to back up that concept. For example, one credit union on the east coast saw a huge productivity boost after centralizing its lending operations, seeing an average loan volume per employee increase by 80%. Brett Christensen of CU Lending Advice has been touting the benefits of centralized lending for a few years. In one of his recent presentations, he said a credit union in Texas centralized lending and in one month one of their centralized lenders sold 143 GAP policies, 47 extended warranties and funded $3.7M in new loans.

The entire organization is more efficient across the board, too. Centralized lending allows staffing decisions to be based on overall loan volume, not geography. The $730 million Tropical Financial Credit Union in Miramar, Florida, reduced its front-line lending staff by 77%, from 19 employees spread out across their branch network to just 9 centralized and highly productive staff.

POPi/o is a perfect system to build a successful centralized lending strategy because it provides face-to-face video interaction at the borrower’s convenience and it was created to support lending workflows. For example, POPi/o collaboration tools provide the ability for loan officers to educate consumers on their loan choices with screen sharing, slide sharing, and other engaging tech tools. Once a product selection has been made, the consumer can provide their photo ID, proof of income and other necessities, then review and sign the loan application in just one video chat session.

If you are interested in learning more about how POPi/o can help support your centralized lending strategy, please contact us for a POPi/o demo at www.POPio.com.