Blog

Instant card reissuance valuable in a world where real-time reigns

May 2, 2014 by Jim Ghiglieri — Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, SHAZAM

In light of recent retail data breaches affecting millions of consumers, the logistics of card reissuance has come to the forefront for many financial institutions.

As we all know, when consumer perception is mired, it can be detrimental to an organization's brand and overall consumer confidence. Restoring confidence and trust after a breach is essential.

While mass issuance of payment cards should be handled through a service bureau, in many cases, instant card issuance has proven to be a workable solution for emergency card replacement, and can provide a number of benefits to cardholders and FIs.

Specifically, instant card reissuance offers unprecedentedcustomer service, helps prevent lost revenue, and provides significant cost savings.

Customer service — News of a data breach naturally causes anxiety for cardholders. Offering an immediate, personalized, permanent replacement can ease some consumer stress — and build customer loyalty.
Prevent lost revenue — In the time it takes for customers to receive their replacement card via mail, FIs are losing out on swipe fee revenue. Instant card reissuance combats that time lag and potential loss of revenue.
Cost savings — According to the Consumer Banker's Association, the average cost of traditional card replacement (including the physical card, communication with each consumer regarding the reissued card, shipping, activation, and follow-up information) is $10 per card. Instance issuance cuts out many of these costs — and eliminates the chance of the new card being lost or stolen in transit.

There is a growing trend for FIs to provide instantly issued, fully personalized cards at the branch. In the aftermath of high-profile breaches, FIs that already had this solution in place were able to reach out to their customers and allow them to walk into a branch, receive a permanent replacement card, and begin using it immediately at point-of-sale terminals.

In today's world, where almost everything is instant, FIs must position themselves to respond with relevant technology. This will not only ensure that customers have the best possible banking experience, but also will let FIs stand above the rest when it comes to meeting consumers' needs as expediently as possible.