I’m always on the lookout for digital process improvements, from the major to the minor. And this one definitely falls in the latter category. But in my 22 years of banking online, I don’t recall ever being prompted to update my income so that my card issuer could reconsider my line size.

But that’s exactly what I received this morning. At first blush, it almost sounded like a crafty fraud attempt. But Capital One wisely inserted my full name, the last four digits on the account, and promised to handle it in just 60 seconds (see first screenshot), so I’m pretty sure it’s legit. They also reassured me that it won’t require a credit bureau inquiry. 

Clicking through the email places the cardholder onto the normal online banking login screen. After logging in, you are sent directly to an account-update page (screenshot 2) to update income and employments status. After completing the two fields, you are thanked and can navigate to other areas or logout (screenshot 3). Total time expended = 87 seconds (Internet times were a little sluggish late afternoon on the West Coast).

Thoughts: This card dates back to 2010, so it’s possible they are on a four-year cycle to update income information; however, I just sent my W2 to Capital One two days ago for a mortgage refinance. So I have to believe this email was triggered by that; if so, it demonstrates solid CRM integration, although it seems curious that the bank wouldn’t just pull my income directly from the mortgage app.

All in all it was a painless experience, and I look forward to seeing whether the bank uses it to alter my credit line.

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Capital One email asking for an income update (2 Sep 2014)

Online banking page to enter info

After entering info