Why does SMS work for the financial sector?

According to recent studies, over 18 million Australians own a smartphone, and 45.9% of them use mobile banking over an average four-week period. On a global scale, digital tech analysts, Juniper Research, has found the total number of digital banking users will exceed 3.6 billion by 2024, up from 2.4 billion in 2020.

Considering stats like these, the finance sector is looking to leverage mobile more as it has the largest personal reach. When it comes to communicating with their audience, SMS is the most widely adopted messaging application on a mobile phone.

Text messaging is a simple, easy-to-use, and effective way to connect and engage with your customers. Security and privacy are crucial considerations for any company, but in the financial space, being doubtful is a deal-breaker.

When you send and receive SMS online with a company like Burst SMS, your data is secure. The proof is in the endorsement: we’re ISO 27001 certified by independent auditors. That’s an internationally accepted information security standard, so you know your data is safe.

How the financial sector can use SMS

There is a multitude of ways financial services can leverage the convenience and low-cost of SMS to improve customer service. Let’s outline some examples.

Security and Identification

Two-factor authentication (2FA) has been embraced by a growing number of financial services as a fail-safe way to protect your client’s accounts and transactions. SMS is in-demand as a way to verify your client’s identity for actions like:

• Digital transactions; money or cryptocurrency transfers
• Logins and activations of online banking accounts

Alerts

The financial sector is often an urgent, need-it-now environment. When you take into account approximately 90% of all incoming texts are read within three minutes, an SMS alert is an ideal way to get information to your customer: fast.

Some smart ways to use an SMS alert:

• Let your customers know when activity occurs on their account
• Notify them of interest rate or currency exchange rate changes
• Advise them when their account balance is low
• Flag potentially fraudulent activity

Reminders

In our busy lives, a friendly SMS reminder is a nudge we all need. Prompt your people to get on top of these essential tasks:

• Renewing their accounts
• Upcoming payments
• Financial advisor appointments

Even better–turn your reminders into a two-way conversation by using a virtual mobile number. Not only can you send custom cues, but you can also receive replies like confirmations or cancellations.

Customer service

Another way to utilise SMS is to promote your business and improve customer service with content such as:

• Special promotional offers
• Invitations to theme days or sponsored events
• Training for new products
• Feedback surveys

The St. George example

It’s no secret, banks are a bullseye for fraudulent activity. As with all financial institutions, St. George Bank deals in delicate data and protecting it is the bedrock of their business.

Having embraced SMS technology for the sake of better service, St. George devised seven alert categories, which customers can subscribe to. To further strengthen trust and sure-up the security of sensitive data, they use a combination of two-factor authentication and customised alerts.

Protection of their customers’ financial information is everything. That’s why St. George added another layer of safeguarding. A web page devoted to educating customers on online security allows clients to monitor their scam page for suss texts and emails.

Ready, set, SMS

If you’re in the financial sector, SMS is an easy and secure way to authenticate, alert, remind, and provide quality customer service.