Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV), the leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today announced that the company's online payment marketing website has been enhanced with new features and self-service tools.
The website provides financial institutions that use the CheckFree(R) RXP(R), Paytraxx(SM) or ZashPay(SM) payment services from Fiserv with access to a broad set of turnkey marketing materials that can be used to support each financial institution's own marketing and channel management efforts.
Materials available through the site include primary market research from Fiserv, marketing planning and execution guides, interactive online tools such as podcasts and calculators and creative campaigns that clients can customize and print on demand. The campaigns and materials available through the marketing website are based on more than a decade of Fiserv investment in research on online banking and payment behavior, including segmentation, adoption trends and the response of consumers to various creative appeals. Fiserv clients uniquely benefit from the company's expertise and campaign support, which is designed to help clients accelerate adoption and transaction volumes.
Fiserv statistics for the previous year show that among a group of 69 financial institutions, those that took advantage of one or more Fiserv-developed online bill payment marketing campaigns saw active users grow an average of 21 percent to nearly 32 percent, versus an average growth of 16.5 percent for non-marketers. Driving growth in active users is particularly important, as Fiserv Consumer Insights research has consistently shown that bill payers are among the most loyal and profitable financial institution customers.
"As a hometown bank, we offer our customers all the conveniences they would expect from a larger bank, but we don't have as many resources to dedicate to marketing," said Paula Roland, Marketing Director, 1st Bank Oklahoma. "One of the advantages of being a Fiserv client is that they support us with compelling marketing materials and the insights needed to successfully promote our online bill payment service. We've been able to identify and target the custommers most likely to adopt the service, and saw the number of active bill pay users more than double within one year."
"We believe in providing convenient money movement options for our members, whether it is paying bills or sending money directly to other people," said Norb Adrian, vice president, Information Technology, Centra Credit Union. "We've worked with Fiserv to promote the convenience, control and security of online bill payment, and have seen active users increase almost 18 percent as a result. Centra recently launched the ZashPay person-to-person payment service, and Fiserv is also providing materials to help us introduce this new capability to our members."
The Fiserv approach to high impact marketing of online payments starts with understanding consumer preferences and obstacles through primary and secondary research. From there, Fiserv can deliver messaging recommendations and creative materials that incorporate research findings as well as prior campaign results. Compelling messaging combined with guidance from Fiserv on target audience selection can help financial institutions deliver the right message to the right customer at the right time.
Financial institutions can access marketing materials such as postcards and statement stuffers from the payment marketing website, as well as email templates, online landing page content and banner ads. Interactive tools to help potential users understand the value of online payments, such as pre-recorded podcasts, time savings calculators, and video tutorials offering step-by-step instructions are also available for download. The website is open to all financial institutions that use CheckFree RXP, Paytraxx or ZashPay and have a direct relationship with Fiserv.
"Despite increasing usage over the last decade, only half of online banking users currently pay bills at their bank or credit union website, leaving significant room for continued adoption," said Geoff Knapp, vice president, Online Banking and Consumer Insights, Fiserv. "Our financial institution clients are powerful advocates for electronic payments, and the payment marketing website equips them with the knowledge and materials they need to drive acquisition, activation and usage of online bill payment and person-to-person payment within their own customer base."