April 12, 2021

Five Fundamental Capabilities Which Will Continue to be Essential

People Discussing Result
  1. Compelling customer propositions and customer-first operating strategy are important to ensure customers choose a company’s products. Customer needs are also important, but often the need for credit can be met by many competitors. Products and a supporting delivery model that drives customer consideration leads to higher growth, lower credit risk, lower attrition, and helps to protect from adverse FOS or CFPB findings.
  2. Regulatory compliance, not just at the minimum legal standard, but practices which appropriately balance customer needs, customer outcomes and company outcomes. Active engagement with the CFPB or FCA is important. A particular focus in the short term on affordability and accommodating customer needs post Covid to insure good customer outcomes.
  3. Risk-adjusted margin and value management expertise will continue to be a critical and a differentiating science. Not just customer level risk using credit bureau data and scores, but also utilization, expected term, payment rates, transaction risk, attrition risk, marginal account-level profit optimization, etc.  Highly specialized and experienced professional talent are required with access to advanced decision science tools and data.
  4. Advanced analytics and data science supported by decision engines across the enterprise – bar is continuously being raised by big tech and the aggregate scale of data and analytic thinking in the fintech and startup space. Credit cards once led this space but now the likes of Google and Amazon and Microsoft are developing and setting new benchmarks enabled by inexpensive access to virtually unlimited data and computing power through the cloud.
  5. Sophisticated account collections and flexible payment arrangements to support customers through life’s ups and downs. This is not an operation that rings constantly and is dreaded because of demands but rather one with people who listen, understand and offer assistance and solutions, automated in app or via text or over phone based on customer preference. Excellent collections builds customer loyalty and reduces delinquency.