Brookfield-based Fiserv Inc. recently launched its new Online Advantage banking solution that allows for personalization and integration of a customer’s commonly used account information on a single page for easy access.
“This is the next generation version of online banking coming from Fiserv,” said Steve Shaw, director of strategic marketing for Fiserv’s internet banking and electronic payments group. “It is different and unique because the solution brings all of a consumer’s familiar destinations to the surface of one page so the consumer doesn’t have to dig around for it.”
The product combines traditional account information, electronic bills and payments, multiple account balances, transfer capabilities, and money management tools.
The development of this technology came about for a few reasons, Shaw said.
First, Fiserv finalized acquisitions of Portland, Ore.-based Corillian Corp., and Georgia-based CheckFree Corp. in December of 2007. Corillian specialized in online banking solutions, while CheckFree’s focus was online bill pay. After the acquisitions were complete, Fiserv began integrating the two specialties to form Fiserv’s Online Advantage solution.
“At Fiserv we do a lot of consumer research. We conducted focus groups and ethnographic research in the homes of our consumers to find out how they utilize their current online banking tools,” Shaw said.
The survey indicated that consumers expect their online bank to provide them with a personalized experience, based on past behaviors and customer data, and they want the ability to customize their own online experience in order to make it more efficient and useful.
“They want everything in one place,” Shaw said. “So for the past year, Fiserv has been working to put together the best solution that will meet both the consumer and industry demands.”
Financial institutions are placing more emphasis on adapting their businesses in order to attract and retain more customers. Fiserv’s clients, financial institutions, expressed a desire to meet their consumer’s needs with this type of service, Shaw said.
Online Advantage will also enable financial institutions to cross sell other revenue opportunities, using the data compiled from each customer’s banking activities.
This data will enable financial institutions to deliver information relevant to the financial task that a consumer is performing at that specific moment on screen.
For example, a financial institution could deliver a high-yield money market account offer just as the consumer is transferring money to an external account.
“Online Advantage is the culmination of our vision to bring the best of online banking and bill payment together, along with data analytics, in a seamless solution to help financial institutions grow online adoption and customer retention, deepen their share of wallet and increase profitable relationships through a rich, integrated online user experience,” said Todd Lesher, division president of Fiserv Electronic Banking Services.
According to Shaw, Fiserv has been pre-selling Online Advantage to its existing client base and plans to launch it to a broader industry market in the first half of 2009.
“We hope to announce a few public customers of the product in the near future. So far the existing clients are all very pleased with it,” Shaw said. “The feedback we are receiving is absolute excitement.”
