FundsXpress Financial Network, Inc., the premier provider of online financial services, today launched 24x7 customer support to Ennis State Bank.
The Ennis, Texas-based institution is one of the first FundsXpress clients to introduce the new service, providing their online customers support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
With two-thirds of the 77.7 million online U.S. households paying at least one bill online, the need to support this growing user base 24x7 has become paramount. A large percentage of online banking is conducted after normal business hours for many community financial institutions, and 24 hour support enables online customers to receive instant feedback to their requests anywhere, anytime.
To customize the 24x7 support service, each subscribing FundsXpress client institution is assigned a toll-free telephone number that is connected directly to the FundsXpress customer call center in Austin, Texas. When calling, customers are greeted by a FundsXpress technician who identifies the name of the client institution corresponding to the toll free number. Customers are immediately provided with answers to their Internet banking questions, drastically shortening the delay time normally associated with after hour issues. This service is especially beneficial for financial institutions that recognize the need for live after hours support, but do not have the resources or need to staff a full call center.
"Our online users have grown tremendously, and the Internet has become an integral part of our overall delivery channel," said Debra Gibson, vice president/cashier. "Providing our online customers with after hours support was very important to us. The FundsXpress 24x7 support ensures we're offering them immediate, personalized attention, but without having someone physically at the bank or on call."
"The sophistication of the online user has changed dramatically in terms of the type and frequency of transactions, as well as the time of day the user is banking," said Greg Constantine, executive vice president, FundsXpress. "With that has come an increased need to support these customers on their timetable, which, for many of our clients, is after normal business hours. We believe this will be one of the fastest growing support services for our clients in the coming months."
Ennis, a suburb of Dallas, has many residents who commute to the city and cannot conduct their banking in person during regular business hours.
"We have many customers who don't get home from work until well after we're closed and they rely solely on the Internet for their banking," said Gibson. "We want them to be able to get answers to their questions and issues as soon as possible. Making our customers wait until the bank opens the next morning or after the weekend is a great inconvenience for them. We want our customers to know we’re doing all we can to make banking with us as easy as possible," she said.
Ennis State Bank is a leading Texas bank with more than $95 million in assets and a customer of FundsXpress since 2001.