How Fee Education Makes a Difference in Customer Satisfaction

THOSE NASTY FEES GOT ME

I remember receiving my first paycheck from Albertsons in 2007. I was a bright-eyed teenager with my first summer job. At the time, I had to deposit my hard-earned paychecks with my mom, as I wasn’t the requisite age to open an account. When I turned 18 years old, I couldn’t wait to open my own bank account and really start “adulting.” Then, in the first three months after opening my account, I incurred endless fees. I was never taught in school, and definitely not educated by my bank, on how to avoid those nasty fees. I became a frequent customer at my local bank branch and quickly became friends with the banker, Shamim. Shamim would waive my overdraft fees by transferring money from my savings into my checking account (a service that would typically cost $5 a month to be automated). I couldn’t understand why I was charged a $35 overdraft fee for spending an extra $0.53 at 7-Eleven. Why wasn’t there some sort of tutorial on best banking practices? Why did my bank have so many fees? Why wasn’t banking easier?

EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE

When I started working at SOLE Financial, I learned that not all banking experiences have to be bad. I was so caught up in my own terrible experience with banks that I didn’t even realize there were people who paid to have their checks cashed, rather than use a bank account to direct deposit their funds. Currently, 26% of adults in the U.S. are un- or underbanked. That means a significant percentage of our population heavily relies on cash and checks. SOLE’s mission is to serve the underserved. That’s why when you become a SOLE cardholder you will be contacted by one of our bilingual team members who will teach best card uses and practices, how to avoid any fees and set up payments, and can even set cardholders up with our automatic rent-payment program – all things I wish I would’ve learned as a new cardholder with my bank.

After I started at SOLE, it got me thinking about how bad my first banking experience was in comparison to the experience SOLE provides its cardholders. It seems my bank wasn’t focused at all on my satisfaction, while paycard companies, like SOLE, focus relentlessly on the customer. I know big banks will probably never be as customer-focused as a company like SOLE, but I do think there are some key lessons that any financial services company can adopt in order to make a massive difference in customer satisfaction.

Three ways big banks can make customers happier:

1)     Humanize your brand – SOLE is always trying to find ways to connect with our cardholders. Whether that be surprising them with SOLE swag or posting the latest memes to Facebook, we do what we can to show them we care.

2)     Avoid unnecessary fees – Instead of nickel and diming our cardholders, SOLE has found that cardholder happiness and our paycard retention rate is much higher when we avoid charging fees as much as possible. 

3)     Educate proactively – Not only does SOLE have a team dedicated to reaching out to and educating our cardholders, but we’re always updating our blog with tips on best ways to use the card, putting tutorials on YouTube, and updating our mobile app and website for the best user experience possible.

LET SOLE BE YOUR RESOURCE

Working side by side with the SOLE team, I see firsthand how helpful our team is to the un-and underbanked community. It is imperative for us to keep our cardholders educated, and we are continually finding new ways to reach cardholders with our message, from social media to email to text messages – something that I so desperately wish would have been available when I opened my first bank account. SOLE is not just a paycard company—we are a financial education company as well.