Redesign of the application process for switching between banks

Abstract

Every day ING receives thousands of digital or hardcopy requests from their customers that need to be processed and answered. A lot of these forms are rejected for various reasons every day. This causes not only huge paper flows and high turnaround times, but unsatisfied customers as well. One of these incoming requests is a hardcopy form to apply for the Interbank Switch Support Service (ISSS). This free service provided by the Nederlandse Vereniging van Banken (NVB) ensures a convenient way of switching from one bank to another, while all payments continue. Thirteen months in a row all payments, including direct debits, of the ‘old’ bank account will be rerouted to the new account. The ISSS will automatically inform companies and organisations which collect money from the old account, e.g. Nuon and T-Mobile, about the new account. So, when a customer decides to switch to another bank, a new bank account must be opened. Thereafter the customer has the choice to apply for the ISSS to ease the switch. If desired, the customer has to fill in a hardcopy form and deliver this form at the new bank. The new bank will check all data and send the form to the old bank, which will check the data as well. When all data matches with the systems and both banks approve, the ISSS will be started. In 2010 ING received thousands forms from private and business customers that wished to switch to ING. A lot of the private forms and even more of the business forms were rejected. A sample performed showed that improving the application form could significant reduce rejection reasons. Based on literature and input form all Dutch banks using the ISSS, the current form was redesigned as part of this master thesis (figure 1 and appendix H). Tests with the new designed form showed less frustration and failures and a higher ease of use. The plan of the NVB is to implement this new form at all Dutch banks within three months (June 2011). This means more than 100.000 Dutch customers will fill in this form every year from that moment on. In order to gain competitive advantage for ING at the same time, several ideas on how to improve the intern ISSS process were generated (bold text)and placed in the following two scenarios: Scenario 1: Application process with ING as new bank First of all the ISSS form should be integrated in LISA*. When a customer opens a bank account at the branch office, employees sometimes forget to ask if the customer wants to make use of the ISSS. By integrating the ISSS application in LISA, employees cannot forget the ISSS anymore. Integrating the application looks more professional than filling in a separate form as well. When a customer is interested in switching or hesitates, several tools must be available at the branch office to help the employee explain the ISSS and remove the obstacles faced by the customer. This could for example be a visual hardcopy map or a short instruction movie. Thereafter, one-on-one switching should be provided. At present, when a customer opens an ING bank account, a payslip has to be brought or a certain amount of money has to be deposited for 3 months in a row before a credit card or an authorized overdraft can be requested. This rule retains some customers from switching. Therefore, one-on-one switching should be provided: when the customer has a credit card or authorized overdraft at the old bank, ING allows the customer to have this immediately as well. So, when the customer decides to switch, the employee fills in the form online together with the customer on www.ing.nl, or when busy, the employee is able to send the customer to the Blob** in order to apply. Applying for the ISSS online has a lot of advantages. First of all, the system is able to give instant feedback, whereby the customer is able to revise the wrong entered information. This feedback could for example be the notification of a wrong filled in account number by performing the 11-test***. Second, instructions can easily be given and the application can only be send if all fields are fulfilled. Finally, the question whether it concerns an and/or-account can be asked. If answered ‘yes’, the names of both account owners need to be filled in, if answered ‘no’, just one field needs to be fulfilled. When the application is signed, the customer receives a manual on how to fill in the stopped Periodic Transfers of the old bank in ‘Mijn ING’. Prefilled switch cards, which the customer merely has to sign, are sent to the customer as well. These cards can be send to all necessary agencies to inform them about the new account number. Scenario 2: Procedure when ING is the old bank At the same time, when customers want to leave ING, all Periodic Transfers (PT) of the old ING account will be stopped. At present, ING sends an overview of these stopped PTs to the customer before the start of the ISSS, so they can be filled in at the new bank. ING should take advantage of this opportunity by at the same time trying to convince the customer to stay. This could for example be by mentioning all advantages of ING and offering a product for free (or with a discount) for a certain period. When the customer decides to stay, ING kills two birds with one stone: the customer stays, and an extra product is sold. However, if the customer still wants to switch, ING should send a survey to find out the reason of the switch. This information could be used to improve current processes. * LISA is the ING computer system used by the branch offices ** A Blob is a self-service computer in the branch offices on which the customer is able to visit all websites covered by www.ing.nl and use Internet banking *** The 11-test is a test performed on nine and ten digit Dutch bank account numbers to see if the bank account number is valid.