Disposable Debit Cards

Discover_disposablenums_cardAlthough they've been around for years, with relatively little success, the time may be right for disposable card numbers. However, this time, the emphasis should be on debit, the payment of choice for many younger consumers.

A compelling case can be made for disposable debit which:

  • is the favored payment vehicle for the under-30 crowd, and often the ONLY payment option for high school and college students
  • differentiates your checking account from 16,000 other U.S. providers
  • encourages more debit card usage
  • cements account relationships
  • adds value to online banking archives
  • provides excellent PR (customer advocacy) and branding benefits

But while great strides have been made in educating consumers about credit card fraud protection, the issue is murkier on the debit side.

Consumer appeal
We were reminded of the appeal of disposable card numbers when reviewing Cambrian House <cambrianhouse.com>, a Web-based venture attempting to "open-source" the business-startup process. While we don't see that taking off, the company does maintain an interesting database of user-submitted business ideas. Of the 433 ideas listed, the most popular according to site visitors is:

Self-destructing credit cards submitted by Rohan Pinto

Discover_disposablenumsEssentially what Mr. Pinto is proposing is the one-time-use credit card number offered since the late 1990s by Citibank, American Express, and, more recently, Discover Card (see inset). The main difference is the name, which actually is pretty good, if it hasn't been trademarked yet (we couldn't find any business using the term in a quick Google).

JB

 

 

 

 

Bank Opportunities with Google Checkout

Credit_card_shoppingYesterday, we posted a lengthy discussion of Google's new universal checkout system, Google Checkout. We are extremely bullish on its future and will follow the developments closely. Just like Google's AdWords first gained traction with small businesses (including Online Banking Report, an AdWords user since early 2002), we expect small merchants to embrace Checkout quickly to realize two huge benefits:

  • Lower card processing fees: A certain amount of card processing can be virtually FREE, as long as the merchant can use the AdWords credits; even after that, Google's fees are one-third lower than PayPal, which is considered a relatively cost-effective program for small merchants
  • Less shopping cart abandonment: Consumers abandon their online carts for a variety of reasons, but one of the leading causes at smaller merchants is concern about entering personal info and credit card numbers

It will take much longer for larger merchants to come on board since they must cede an important part of the customer relationship to Google, such as the customer's email address.

Financial institution opportunities
All this begs the question: What does this have to do with my financial institution? I'm glad you asked. Here are five ways a bank could leverage Google Checkout (in order from easiest to most difficult):

  1. Educate customers on Google Checkout with encouragement to enter your credit and/or debit numbers into the wallet: While Google allows multiple cards, most users won't realize that initially since it asks for only one during the sign-up process, so the first one entered has a huge advantage. This would make a great subject for your periodic email newsletter, a feature for your website, and so on.
  2. Incent customers to enter your card number: As we mentioned yesterday, Citibank has made a significant investment by buying the pole position in the sign-up process. Assuming one million of its cardholders take advantage of the $5 credit, that's a $5 million expense, even without considering what they paid Google for the exposure. You might want to consider a similar program, although an iPod sweepstakes could be just as effective and less expensive.
  3. Educate small merchants on the program: If you don't offer your own merchant processing, you should tell your business customers about this new way to save on card processing and potentially increase online sales.
  4. Use it to fund new deposits during your online application: If you accept credit cards to fund new checking accounts, you could offer Google Checkout as a funding option. Provided you can use the AdWords credits, it could be a way to virtually eliminate the cost of interchange on these deposits. In fact, Google may have to erect some barriers here. Again, assuming you are a big AdWords spender, you could offer customers the option of making ongoing deposits via credit card, as long as the total deposited was no higher than your normal AdWords buy. For example, if you spend $10,000 per month in AdWords/AdSense, you could offset up to $100,000 in card-funded deposits.
  5. Create a front-end to Google Checkout within your online banking area: Using account aggregation technology that saves the user's Google username and password on your server, you could make it easier for users to access their Google accounts. You could even go into full aggregation mode, by automatically downloading Checkout activity and displaying it within your online banking area.

Did I miss anything here? Email me (click on my initials below), if you have other brainstorms or comments.

JB

Live Chat in Online Banking Grabs Some Ink

Citi_myhomeequity_livechatAlthough our readers won't find much new information in today's Wall Street Journal article, Online Banking Strives for the Human Touch, it's significant for two reasons:

  • Another example of a leading personal finance writer looking for "the next big thing" in online banking (see also NetBanker June 28); expect a wave of these stories through year-end
  • The article included a full-text screenshot of a banking chat session with SunTrust. You might circulate this among your reps so they understand that what they write in a chat session potentially becomes part of the "public record" (by the way, the SunTrust rep, and/or the marketing guru who scripted the canned responses, deserve a raise for their sales technique).

If you make it to the end, you'll find a couple interesting online lending factoids:

  • Bank of America claims an 8-fold increase in online-mortgage sales in Q1 2006 compared to the year earlier quarter, with live-chat part of the reason; it also said home-equity loan volume doubled
  • Citbank says 90% of its live-chat users complete a home-equity application, presumably at its <myhomeequity.com> site mentioned earlier in the story (see screenshot above); the bank also said it expects to originate $2 billion in home equity loans online in 2006, double that in 2005

JB

Google Checkout: “iPodding” Ecommerce? Citibank’s Unusual Role

Ipod_nanoHas Google found its iPod? Not the music player, but an end-to-end ecommerce system that is safe, convenient, and above all, drop-dead simple to use. Something that does for online commerce what Apple did for digital music. That's a tall order, but we believe the search giant may have just such a hit on its hands with Google Checkout.

Google_checkout_logo_1For more than a year, there has been a great deal of speculation about Google’s entry into the payments arena. After months of quiet testing with carefully selected beta merchant partners such as Starbucks and Buy.com, Google Checkout was officially released June 29 <checkout.google.com>. Although the reaction in online blogs was mixed, we think it's a winner. The only question is whether it's a home run or a grand slam (or World Cup equivalents, one goal or four).

Google Checkout (previously known as Google Payments or Gbuy) is an online-payments tool integrated with the user's Google account. On the surface, it's similar to PayPal, but the true strength and potential threat is its close ties to Google’s already industry-dominant search function.

At this point, Checkout's functionality is more limited than PayPal's. There is no stored value, no subscription payments, no eBay integration, no non-credit card options, no integrated debit card, or money market account. For the end-user, it's closer to a virtual wallet than a PayPal substitute. However, it goes way beyond what the ewallets of the late 1990s offered, taking control of the entire checkout process, a potentially disruptive technology in online retailing.

Google_checkout_starbucks_search

How it works
Google_checkout_starbucks Searches that match a Google Checkout advertiser include a shopping cart icon embedded within the AdWords text box (see Google search on "Starbucks store" above). Users can buy products from these merchants in a few clicks without having to enter any additional information (see Google Checkout icon in lower left of the Starbucks shopping cart shown at right). This eliminates the dreaded merchant-account set-up process that causes massive shopping card abandonment problems, especially at relatively unknown merchants where privacy fears are greater.

Google_checkout_starbucks2First-time users are prompted to enter their credit card, billing, and shipping information, which Google stores in its servers (see screenshot left). Subsequent purchases can be made with a simple Google username and password. Users can store additional payment and/or shipping options at any time. Complete purchase histories can then be monitored from their Google account.

Currently, just 100 merchants are participating (see places to buy), but given the potential merchant savings, expect that to change quickly. Twenty-four of the 100 Checkout users offer a $10 discount on purchases of $20 or more (see DayDeals screenshot below).

Google_checkout_daydeal2Like PayPal, Google shields the buyer’s credit card number and other personal information beyond what is necessary for shipping purposes. However, Google also provides the option of keeping the user's email address confidential, a spam-limiting function not available via PayPal.

When a user selects the confidential option (see screenshot below), Google forwards the seller's confirmation message to the end-user.

Google_checkout_finalstep_2 

Sellers are paid directly through their own Google Checkout account. Google has significantly undercut PayPal on pricing, at least for smaller merchants. Google's fee is 2% of the sales amount plus a flat $0.20 transaction fee compared to PayPal’s typical 2.9% plus $0.30 (PayPal has a sliding scale with higher-volume, $100k/mo and above, merchants paying 1.9% plus $0.30).

In addition, Google advertisers earn credits against their processing fees. For every dollar spent on Adwords, sellers can process $10 worth of sales with no processing charges other than the $0.20 transaction fee. It amounts to a 20% discount on AdWords spending, provided there is sufficient Google Checkout volume (i.e., at least 10 times the amount spent in AdWords).

Finally, sellers can create their own Buy Now buttons at the Google site, then drag and drop the HTML code into their websites. This allows small business sellers who are not currently ecommerce-enabled to immediately begin accepting Google Checkout.

Google is expected to provide additional data as the service matures. Having a hand in the process from product search all the way through to the purchase will allow Google to keep tabs on which ads actually result in a sale. This could mean changes to Adwords pricing or structure.

Analysis
The pitch to consumers is appealing. In addition to the privacy shields, Google promises to mediate disputes, and gives users a central place to track purchases. But the biggest consumer benefit: a common user interface for checkout, something that previous ewallets never provided. As you can see in the screenshot below, after shopping the merchant site, the contents of the cart are transferred to Google. At that point, Google takes over, offering the end-user the following options:

  • Change shipping method with all costs itemized
  • Add a coupon code
  • Change credit card
  • Change shipping address
  • Shield email address from merchant
  • SIgn up for promotional messages from merchant
  • Links to the user's Google account
  • Concise summary of the billing info, including exactly how the charge will appear on the user's credit card statement
  • Concise summary of the merchant's return policy

Google_checkout_dvdempire

Will consumers give up more personal information to the largest data repository on earth? Initial polls seem to suggest so. In addition, you can bet that merchants will create incentives to move credit card and/or PayPal volume to Google to save as much as 3% on card processing. For a retailer with a 10% margin, that's a potential 30% lift.

You might be thinking that free credit card processing is a short-term loss leader that will end as soon as a critical mass of merchants adopts Google's system. We don't think so. Put yourself in the shoes of a Google advertiser. You now know that you'll earn a 20% discount on your AGoogle_checkout_signindWords buy. Will you let that drop to the bottom line, or might you use some of that windfall to goose your bids on Google a bit? If it's an efficient market, eventually much, if not all, of the "free" card processing will flow back to Google in the form of higher bids. And since not all merchants will qualify for the 20% discount, Google might actually increase its total take due to the "discount." Brilliant.   

Google_checkout_ccregCitibank's role
The program should have little impact on retail banks, since at this point Google Checkout must use a bank-issued credit or signature debit card to participate. However, Citibank is paying Google to be the "preferred card" on both the Google sign-in page (click on inset above for closeup) and the credit card registration page (click on inset right). The credit card giant is hoping the $5 (or 1000 Thank-you points), will entice users to enter their Citi card into the Google wallet. The $5 bonus offer ends Aug. 1.

Retail banks might want to consider supporting the payment service with a secure gateway to various online payment alternatives so users can manage their PayPal, Google, and other accounts directly from a secure online banking area.

If you are a credit card processor, however, this could eventually pose a threat to your market share and/or margins. Even without factoring in the AdWord's credit, Google's highly publicized 2% discount rate, along with a lack of monthly fees, is a bargain, especially for small businesses. However, given the reluctance of businesses to change banking relationships, it will be years before the impact is felt.

JB

Branded Wi-fi at the Airport

Wifi_logoEarlier this year we looked at how Chase was targeting business travelers with branded power outlets at the Indianapolis airport (NB Feb. 21). Later, we discussed the possibilities of free wi-fi at bank branches (NB April 8). How about marrying the two tactics?

Wifi_popupWhile waiting for baggage at Sea-Tac airport today, I thought I'd check email from my laptop. Unfortunately, the wi-fi in the baggage area required an AT&T passcode (see inset). But the thought occurred to me, why not brand the wi-fi connection at the airport with a bank name AND provide free access for everyone, or perhaps just for bank customers?

How it could work
The logistics for providing free access for everyone are relatively simple. If there is already a provider of free access, contact them and see what it would cost to install your brand on the service. If access is provided through one or more paid programs, contact the airport and see if they'd like to add, or switch over, to the increasingly common free model. You may also be able to negotiate a significant presence on signage at the airport.

Providing free access ONLY for bank customers is more of a challenge, but has a bigger potential payback in terms of new accounts. It would be especially powerful in combination with an airport ATM presence.

The downside: fees to the airport and the logistics of limiting free access to bank customers (non-customers could be charged a typical Internet access fee). One way to handle that is to use your call center to provide the access code once customers type in an acceptable ATM card number. Or you could deliver the access code via standard ATM machines or special card-reading kiosks. Travelers will share access codes among themselves, but that's not a major concern. The main point is that bank customers get a tangible benefit.

JB

First Look at Google Checkout

Has Google found its iPod? Not the music player, but an end-to-end, ecommerce system that is safe, convenient, and above all, drop-dead simple to use? Something that does for online commerce what Apple did for digital music. That's a tall order, but we believe the search giant may have just such a hit on its hands with Google Checkout.

Google_checkout_logo_1For more than a year, there has been a great deal of speculation about Google’s entry into the payments arena. After months of quiet testing with carefully selected beta merchant partners such as Starbucks and Buy.com, Google Checkout was officially released yesterday <checkout.google.com>. Although the reaction in online blogs was mixed, we think it's a winner. The only question is whether it's a home run or a grand slam (or World Cup equivalents, one goal or four).

Google Checkout (previously known as Google Payments or Gbuy) is an online-payments tool integrated with the user's Google account. On the surface, it's similar to PayPal, but the true strength and potential threat is its close ties to Google’s already industry-dominant search function.

At this point, Checkout's functionality is more limited than PayPal's. There is no stored value, no subscription payments, no eBay integration, no non-credit card options, no integrated debit card, or money-market account. For the end-user, it's closer to a virtual wallet than a PayPal substitute. However, it goes way beyond what the ewallets of the late 1990s offered, taking control of the entire checkout process, a potentially disruptive technology in online retailing.

Google_checkout_starbucks_search

How it works
Google_checkout_starbucks Searches that match a Google Checkout advertiser include a shopping cart icon embedded within the AdWords' text box (see Google search on "Starbucks store" above). Users can buy products from these merchants in a few clicks without having to enter any additional information (see Google Checkout icon in lower left of the Starbucks shopping cart shown at right). This eliminates the dreaded merchant-account set-up process that causes massive shopping card abandonment problems, especially at relatively unknown merchants where privacy fears are greater.

Google_checkout_starbucks2First-time users are prompted to enter their credit-card, billing, and shipping information, which Google stores in its servers (see screenshot left). Subsequent purchases can be made with a simple Google username and password. Users can store additional payment and/or shipping options at any time. Complete purchase histories can then be monitored from their Google account.

Currently, just 100 merchants are participating (see places to buy), but given the potential merchant savings, expect that to change quickly. Of the 100 Checkout merchants, 24 offer a $10 discount off purchases of $20 or more (see DayDeals screenshot below).

Google_checkout_daydeal2Like PayPal, Google shields the buyer’s credit-card number and other personal information beyond what is necessary for shipping purposes. However, Google also provides the option of keeping the user's email address confidential, a spam-limiting function not available via PayPal.

When a user selects the confidential option (see screenshot below), Google forwards the seller's confirmation message to the end-user.

Google_checkout_finalstep_2 

Sellers are paid directly through their own Google Checkout account. Google has significantly undercut PayPal on pricing, at least for smaller merchants. Google's fee is 2% of the sales amount plus a flat $0.20 transaction fee compared to PayPal’s typical 2.9% plus $0.30 (PayPal has a sliding scale with higher-volume, $100k/mo and above, merchants paying 1.9% plus $0.30).

In addition, Google advertisers earn credits against their processing fees. For every dollar spent on Adwords, sellers can process $10 worth of sales with no processing charges other than the $0.20 transaction fee. It amounts to a 20% discount on AdWords' spending, provided there is sufficient Google Checkout volume (i.e., at least 10 times the amount spent in AdWords).

Finally, sellers can create their own Buy Now buttons at the Google site, then drag and drop the HTML code into their websites. This allows small business sellers who are not currently ecommerce-enabled to immediately begin accepting Google Checkout.

Google is expected to provide additional data as the service matures. Having a hand in the process from product search all the way through to the purchase will allow Google to keep tabs on which ads actually result in a sale. This could mean changes to Adwords' pricing or structure.

Analysis
The pitch to consumers is appealing. In addition to the privacy shields, Google promises to mediate disputes, and gives users a central place to track purchases. But the biggest consumer benefit: a common user interface for checkout, something that previous ewallets never provided. As you can see in the screenshot below, after shopping the merchant site, the contents of the cart are transferred to Google. At that point, Google takes over, offering the end-user the following options:

  • Change shipping method with all costs itemized
  • Add a coupon code
  • Change credit card
  • Change shipping address
  • Shield email address from merchant
  • SIgn up for promotional messages from merchant
  • Links to the user's Google account
  • Concise summary of the billing info, including exactly how the charge will appear on the user's credit card statement
  • Concise summary of the merchant's return policy

Google_checkout_dvdempire

Will consumers give up more personal information to the largest data repository on earth? Initial polls seem to suggest so. In addition, you can bet that merchants will create incentives to move credit-card and/or PayPal volume to Google to save as much as 3% on card processing. For a retailer with a 10% margin, that's a potential 30% lift.

You might be thinking that free credit-card processing is a short-term loss leader that will end as soon as a critical mass of merchants adopts Google's system. We don't think so. Put yourself in the shoes of a Google advertiser. You now know that you'll earn a 20% discount on your AGoogle_checkout_signindWords' buy. Will you let that drop to the bottom line, or might you use some of that windfall to goose your bids on Google a bit? If it's an efficient market, eventually much, if not all, of the "free" card processing will flow back to Google in the form of higher bids. And since not all merchants will qualify for the 20% discount, Google might actually increase its total take due to the "discount." Brilliant.   

Google_checkout_ccregCitibank's role
The program should have little impact on retail banks, since at this point Google Checkout must use a bank-issued credit or signature debit card to participate. However, Citibank is paying Google to be the "preferred card" on both the Google sign-in page (click on inset above for closeup) and the credit-card registration page (click on inset right). The credit-card giant is hoping the $5 (or 1000 Thank-you points), will entice users to enter their Citi card into the Google wallet. The $5 bonus offer ends Aug. 1.

Retail banks might want to consider supporting the payment service with a secure gateway to various online payment alternatives so users can manage their PayPal, Google, and other accounts directly from a secure online banking area.

If you are a credit card processor, however, this could eventually pose a threat to your market share and/or margins. Even without factoring in the AdWords' credit, Google's highly publicized 2% discount rate, along with a lack of monthly fees, is a bargain, especially for small businesses. However, given the reluctance of businesses to change banking relationships, it will be years before the impact is felt.

JB

Citibank cracks the “Wired 40”

Wired_cover_190_1We are huge fans of Wired magazine <wired.com>, having read just about every one of its 190 monthly issues. In fact, eight or nine years ago I used to tell friends that the goal of Online Banking Report was to translate the technology magazine into "banking terms."   

I still recommend the magazine to anyone interested in the future of digital communications, marketing, or content (that ought to cover anyone reading this). So if you're not already on board, head to its website and plunk down US$10 for an annual subscription.

Wired 40
Wired_40_logo_1Every year Wired publishes its list of its top 40 companies, The Wired 40. Most are large companies selected for their strategic vision, global reach, killer technology, and hunger for new ideas. The latest ranking (July issue) has Google at #1, knocking Apple from the top. The biggest surprise, New Corp. hitting the chart at #9. The company, which wasn't even ranked last year, has become an Internet giant with its purchase of MySpace last year (see NB March 16).

Here's the top 10 with last year's rank in parenthesis:

  1. Google (#2)
  2. Apple (#1)
  3. Samsung (#3)
  4. Genentech (#7)
  5. Yahoo (#5)
  6. Amazon.com (#6)
  7. Toyota (#8)
  8. General Electric (#17)
  9. News Corp. (NEW)
  10. SAP (#11)

Ge_wired_onlineAs you would expect, there's not much in the way of financial services in the list. However, Citibank holds on to the number 38, down two spots from last year. Not entirely coincidental, Citi is one of the few major financial services advertisers in Wired. This month, the bank has a huge buy, with a fold-out front-cover spread pitching its "Citi identity theft solutions."

GE (#8), Yahoo (#5), Microsoft (#36), and even Google (#1) have significant retail financial services, although they account for mere slivers of the giants' overall revenues.

Like Citibank, GE elected to make an ad buy this month, pitching its high-yield deposit products on the online version of the Wired 40 list (see inset).

Falling out of the top 40 this year was TD Ameritrade which the magazine said still "ruled etrading, but what once was a disruptive technology is now a commodity."

Online Banking’s “Second Wave”

In today's Wall Street Journal, personal finance writer Jane Kim does a roundup of what she calls "the next wave of online banking." The impetus for the article was Yodlee's new MoneyCenter that will be available to consumers in early July. I was interviewed for the article and provided several of the examples along with the market size estimate.

In addition to Yodlee, the following developments were chronicled in the article:

  • Citibank's <citibank.com> 50-fold increase in online interbank transfer limits from around $2,000 to $100,000 this summer. In what may simply be a self-serving comment made to a reporter, the bank cites the demand for its new e-Savings account as an impetus for the change.
  • Commerce Bank's (NJ) Virtual Private Bank <virtualprivatebank.com> for customers with $1 million or more in investable assets.
  • Wells Fargo's My Spending Report, a simple integrated spending report we discussed last year. (NB Feb. 17, 2005)
  • Bank of America's <bankamerica.com> account aggregation and recently expanded account alerts.
  • Chase's <chase.com> next-day bill payment.

Analysis
Although most of these examples are relatively minor improvements, it's good to see the mainstream press recognizing online banking innovations. The last few years have been dominated by security concerns, and we believe it's a great sign that reporters are looking for "what's next." It would be wise to have an answer to that question when your local paper calls.

We believe the Virtual Private Bank (VPB) from Commerce and the Yodlee system deserve closer examination. We'll cover Yodlee's new product when it goes live next month. And, although we won't be able to drop a million into Commerce Bank, we'll take the VPB for a test drive later this week.

JB

If you’d like to learn more about the future of online banking, check out the Online Banking & Bill Pay Forecast: Current, future and historical usage: 1994 to 2016 from our sister publication, The Online Banking Report.

Chartway Federal Credit Union Referral Campaign Falls Short

Chartway_logo_1Sometimes it helps to see how NOT to do something. Today's victim: Chartway Federal Credit Union <chartway.com> which has been running a clever, but poorly executed, 8.00% APY certificate-of-deposit special on its website for the past month (see screenshot below).

Chartway_8apy_referral

Analysis
The good news
: It's a great offer. Any member making a successful referral gets to put up to $8,000 in an 8-month CD earning 8% (notice a theme there?). To qualify, the referral must bring in a new credit union member that opens a checking account along with the certificate OR initiates a $500-minimum direct-deposit relationship. The new member also gets to put up to $8,000 in an 8-month CD.

Members can make up to three referrals for a total deposit of $24,000. With the CU's normal 6-month rates at 3.4%, its more than double the normal rate of return, earning both the referrer and referee an extra $31 per thousand over the 8-month term or almost $250 extra per certificate (pre-tax). The eye-catching offer is featured front and center on its webpage.

The bad news: There is no hyperlink. Clicking on the logo, headline, or text does absolutely nothing! There aren't even any instructions on how to participate. Viewers are simply left hanging. The only extra info provided are the disclosures delivered via mouseover (see screenshot above).

It harks back to websites of the mid-90s that were put together by the "ATM guy." Unless you are trying to entice users to go on scavenger hunt through your website, this is a major mistake, and it's been that way for nearly a full month.

JB

Five Percent Savings Rate from Citibank

In yet another aggressive deposit-pricing move, Citibank raised its e-Savings rate to 5%, the first major high-yield player to surpass the magic 5% mark on a savings account with a low minimum balance. IndyMac (5%, $25k min) and Countrywide (5.25%, $50k min) hit 5% before Citi, but have higher minimums.

Keep in mind, Citi's account requires a checking account, a significant part of the strategy that has attracted more than $2 billion in new money in the past three months (NB June 1).

Citi_5percent_home_1

Citibank’s e-Savings email

Last night, Citibank sent selected checking-account customers an email solicitation for its 4.75% APR e-Savings account. I live outside its branch network, so Citi may have elected not to send the message to customers serviced by traditional branches.

Citibank_email_esavings_with_imageThe message was direct and to the point (click on screenshot left). Citibank even included the impressive 4.75% interest rate in the message subject. The only distracting portion of the message was a garbled first word in the second paragraph. It was probably caused by incompatibilities in software rendering of the apostrophe in the first word, "there's." To avoid this type of error, make sure you proof your message in multiple email clients.

The bank continues to engender trust in its marketing messages by including the "email security" box in the upper-right corner which includes the customer's full name and last four digits of their ATM card. The security information is prominently displayed, in a blue shaded box to make it more prominent, even if the user has images blocked (see screenshot below).

The bank also includes short text messages that appear where the images would have been displayed (alt-text tags) making the message relatively readable even for users that never download the images.

Citibank_email_esavings_no_image

Surprisingly, the landing page for the offer was a generic product page. The campaign would be much more effective if the bank had reinforced the e-Savings benefits on the landing page like it does when it advertises online (see NB March 29). Click on the following link to see a screenshot of the landing page. —JB

Appendix

Landing page
(displayed when clicking on the "signup" button in the email).

Note: I tested the link on my laptop where I am not recognized as a customer and on my desktop that saves my username in a cookie. Both times I was served the same landing page (below).

Citibank_email_esavings_landing