Financial service companies can do more to break down barriers and engage with customers

3 years ago

Gretel, the new digital platform which enables financial institutions to reconnect with customers, and improve financial inclusion hosted a webinar this week to discuss how taking a strategic approach to customer data and engagement can ensure financial companies reconnect with lost customers and futureproof against the problem reoccuring.

The webinar covered:

The key data challenges in keeping connected to your customers, including mergers, acquisitions, legacy technology and a siloed approach to customer management.

A poll was taken looking at how can fintech help banks and financial providers and the top result was the ability to provide a single customer view, highlighting a lack of capability to centralise customer data in some organisations.

There were a number of issues around complex data management for financial companies discussed, and collectively how these issues can lead to significant challenges for firms in terms of identifying opportunities to improve customer reconnection processes and outcomes.

Gretel also identified the privacy paradox as one area causing financial companies a headache.

Duncan Stevens, CEO, Gretel “Firms want to re-engage with lost customers but how do you get in touch and what do you say? Financial institutions do not want to break any privacy regulation but at the same time need to provide enough information to let people know they may have lost money – it’s a huge barrier.

“Overall, we see there is sometimes a disconnect between the financial provider, the products and the customers themselves. We know there is apathy on the side of the customer and complexity on the side of the financial company. However, these legacy issues can be overcome with new technology and centralising data.”

The discussion focussed on putting in place ways for customers to stay connected with financial organisations. Financial institutions also need to put in place the right processes to provide the best possible data to better support customer engagement.

Attendees said that engaging multiple stakeholders in their organisation was a key issue. Dormant accounts sit across the business and therefore companies need to decide who is accountable.

In addition, the panellists argued that one of the reasons many financial companies struggle with dormant accounts and gone away customers is the lack of a useable platform to highlight the data and provide actionable insights..

This is where fintech and ‘new tech’ like Gretel is designed to help consumers reconnect with everything from their first bank account to a forgotten pension. It uses cutting edge technology to reduce engagement barriers, bringing together companies and consumers creating a “hub” which acts as a one stop shop for customer reconnection and recovering lost assets.

Gretel’s aim is to ensure customers stay connected. It will keep looking for markers that signal disconnection or asset dormancy, then supporting the reconnection process with the bank, investment company, pension provider.

Gretel is providing a follow-up guide that includes a 10-point reconnection strategy which informs a 30 week plan for any financial company looking to improve customer data and recovering lost customers.

Notes to Editors

Duncan Stevens, Tom Simmonds and Ashley Hollands, as the founders of Gretel, have over 60 years of experience in financial services and technology between them. They have run some of the largest financial tracing businesses in the UK, returning over £2.5bn in forgotten and dormant assets to over 1.5m people.

They have been directly involved with the Government’s Independent Commission on Dormant Assets in recent years and, in response to the Commission’s recommendations, have built Gretel as a free to use platform for consumers, transforming the ease and speed with which they are able to find their money, regardless of where it is in the financial system it was lost.
How will Gretel work?
Gretel is designed to help consumers find everything from their first bank account to a forgotten pension. It uses cutting edge technology to make the financial world a smaller place, bringing

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About Gretel

Gretel is part of IntelliTeq, which focuses on simplifying complex financial processes. IntelliTeq solutions assist companies in complying with regulatory challenges around data and empower customers through the use of proprietary technology.