Charles Schwab’s Rich New Customer Offer

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Charles Schwab, Investment Products
Yesterday, I noted that TD Waterhouse was giving away iPod nano's for new accounts. Well, it turns out that is nothing in the high-stakes game of bagging higher-balanced brokerage accounts. In the middle of its homepage, Charles Schwab <schwab.com> is offering a night on the town in NYC, including 2 or 4 Broadway show tickets, dinner, and even a night in a luxury hotel. What's the  catch you ask? Just $100k, $250k, or $750k in new money depending on just what level of "free" you'd like (click on inset for details). The deposit does NOT have to made to a new account, but like TD, all retirement and institutional account are excluded. (Click to view the homepage screenshot, links do not work) Start saving your pennies, you've got until March 15, 2006 to qualify.  --JB

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TD Waterhouse Gives Away iPod Nanos

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, TD Waterhouse, Yahoo
Is there a single online financial services customer that wouldn't want an iPod nano? Even if you didn't like sticking white tentacles in your ears, surely someone in the extended family would graciously accept one as a gift. At $200 a pop, it's a pricey premium, but TD Waterhouse <tdwaterhouse.com> is using it to attract new brokerage customers. Small banners located in various spots within Yahoo Finance <finance.yahoo.com> say exhort users to, "Get an iPod nano" (see inset). The brokerage doesn't actually use the word FREE in the banner or on the landing page (click on inset for a closer look); but it's certainly implied, and in fact, it is free if you follow the rules (see below). The offer is not mentioned on the broker's main website. DetailsAs an industry analyst, we love these offers; not because of the flashy premium itself, but for the mountains of fine print…

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Chase Launches Overnight Check

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Chase Bank, Epayments
Question: What do you call a service that delivers a single consumer payment via fuel-hungry trucks and jets while requiring six or more highly paid technicians and drivers to get the job done?    Answer: An online banking innovation featured in a page-dominating ad on Chase's homepage today (click to view screenshot, links will not work). The service, originally launched by Chase's Bank One unit in January, is now available to all Chase online banking customers. Customers initiate payments online and UPS does the heavy-lifting, ensuring they arrive by the end of the following business day. Cost is $14.99 per payment which can be tracked via the UPS tracking number. Cut-off time is a user-friendly 10 pm eastern time. AnalysisWe like the service, even if the delivery mechanism of dead trees and fossil fuels is positively archaic. But given the realities of our complex payment and accounts receivable systems, it's…

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Bank Email Alerts Featured in Major Print Advertising

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Alerts & Messaging
The first widespread use of online features for overall corporate branding was the now-famous fall of 2002 Bank of America television advertising campaign touting it’s recently-set-free bill payment program. At the time the bank said that these advertisements were some of its most effective TV spots of all-time with recall percentages through the roof. Three years later you see online features used in all sorts of media campaigns. Two print advertisements caught our eye this month. Chase Bank ran a three-quarter page color ad in The New York Times on Oct. 9 focusing on its free email alerts using the following headline:     The morning news.      The morning weather.     Maybe even your morning balance. The ad was mostly white space with a smaller picture of a 30-something guy lounging in his Adirondack chair on his deck in the woods with laptop and coffee (evidently enjoying a wireless…

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Citibank’s Comprehensive Loyalty Program

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Citibank, Rewards Programs
Definition: loy·al  (loil) adj. Steadfast in allegiance - When I was a graduate student 17 years ago, I did a lot of research into so-called loyalty programs. At that time, other than the airlines and grocery stores (think S&H Green Stamps); it was a relatively new concept. Now, just about every modern retailer has a loyalty program of one form or another, from pizza joints (our favorite spot has a “frequent pier” discount), to book stores ($25 annual fee for at 10% discount at Barnes & Noble), and even pet stores. The programs typically provide discounts, VIP services, and/or special programs for frequent customers. - Many financial institutions provide loyalty features such as relationship pricing, rewards for credit/debit card usage, personal bankers, and events for high-net-worth clients. But Citibank is breaking new ground with its Thank-You Points program. - The new rewards program has been featured in media campaigns for…

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Trendspotting: Capital One’s No Hassle Credit Card Accounts

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: American Express, Capital One, Credit/Debit Cards, Strategies
David Spade's "no guy" has helped make Capital One's No Hassle credit card customer service parody one of the most-recognized consumer advertising campaigns of the year. According to the company, the commercials have helped lift the Capital One's name recognition to 98% (see note 1). Along the same lines,American Express is test marketing a no-fee automatic-rewards card called Clear. The card, which is available through its website (click on inset for closeup), features no fees (late, overlimit, annual) and an automatic rewards fulfillment, a $25 cash card every time you spend $2500 on the card. Cardmembers also receive a free credit report and credit score each year. Finally, Citibank is about to jump on the back-to-basics movement with its no-late-fee Simplicity card expected to debut this week at an event in New York City (note 2). The card will come in three flavors: plain, cash-back, and rewards. The bank's website…

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Scottrade to Use PassMark Security

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: PassMark Security Inc., ScottTrade, Security & Privacy
It's been four months since Bank of America surprised the industry with its endorsement of PassMark Security <passmarksecurity.com> for multi-factor consumer login (see NB 26 May 2005). Since then, we've talked to a number of industry participants that claim to have a better mousetrap, which they may. We are not in a position to pass judgment about the technical merits of one system compared to the next; we'll let the market sort that out. And true enough there are weaknesses in the PassMark system as we noted in our Online Banking Report article (OBR 119). But we still believe PassMark will be one of the survivors as it builds upon its BofA relationship and adds other customers down the road. The first new win is discount broker Scottrade <scottrade.com>, which announced yesterday that it will install PassMark to improve login security for its 1.4 million consumer accounts (see inset above).…

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Everbank Markets to SmartMoney List

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Deposits, Checking, Savings, CDs, Email Marketing, Everbank
Everbank <everbank.com> dropped an email solicitation (click on inset for closeup) to the registered users of SmartMoney.com. The message featured the bank's newest specialty CD, the Asian Advantage which rewards depositors with above-market returns IF the dollar falls against a bucket of Asian currencies. Last week, the Internet-only bank dropped an 8.5 x 5.5 inch postcard mailer with a similar theme. Recipients could respond by calling toll-free 800.926.4922 or going online to www.everbank.com/asiancd. AnalysisThis is a great example of deposit product email marketing. Focuses on the unique selling benefits Good graphics and copy Landing page with a minimum of distracting navigation choices Visible call-to-action with Apply Now! button We like the opening sentence in the postcard better than the email (see below). With an advanced investing strategy, the direct statement of how the user will earn a profit is more understandable. However, without the results of the bank's testing, it's…

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The CEO Spokesperson

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Email Marketing
You may have noticed the new Chrysler ads using former CEO Lee Iacocca. The company revived the 1980s ad campaign because it was so effective at the time. However, it takes an especially charismatic company leader to make a television pitch pay off. However, through email, all it takes is a good copywriter, a striking graphic or two, and an interesting message. You have to be careful not to overuse this technique, but once a year or so, an email from the CEO/President could be an effective relationship-builder and marketing technique. For example, today we received a message from the CEO of Network Solutions, the original domain-name registrar (click on the inset for a closeup). We've received hundreds of message from the company over the years, but don't recall one from the CEO before. It got our attention and we looked at it long enough to determine it was selling…

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ID Theft Prevention Services in the News

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Credit Reports & ID Theft Protection
Based on the calls we've been getting, you'll see a raft of stories like the one in the Wall Street Journal today, New Services Guard Against ID Theft, by reporters Kevin Delaney and David Bank. The article described new services from four companies that go beyond simple credit report monitoring, and track personal info in a raft of online databases. The goal of the services is to identify potential fraud earlier in the cycle, minimizing its impact. The article was inconclusive over the value the individual services provided, but it generally was positive about the concept. This type of press coverage helps raise awareness among your security-minded consumers about potential solutions. Banks that can vet these services and provide reasonable assurances that by using them the consumer hasn't created yet another security vulnerability, will be rewarded with a nice stream of fee income. Companies mentioned in the WSJ article: ID…

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Bank of America’s Unusual Automated Savings Plan

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Bank of America, Credit/Debit Cards, Deposits, Checking, Savings, CDs
We're not sure whether this is incredibly brilliant or insanely stupid, but Bank of America gets high marks for creativity with its latest debit card enhancement. The bank's "Keep the Change" program allows debit card users to round up their purchase transactions to the nearest dollar, with the difference added to a savings account automatically. To give it a bit more excitement, BofA will add a 5% bonus to each savings deposit. Since the average round-up amount is 50 cents, the bonus costs the bank just 2.5 cents per transaction, a very cost effective incentive program, if it works. To kick things off, Bank of America will match the round-up amount 100% for the first 3 months. That will be like giving everyone a 50-cent discount on each transaction. That should spur signups for the program.  AnalysisThe overall concept of automatic or forced savings is excellent. The bank's press release…

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Key Bank’s New ID Theft Service has Flawed Implementation

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Credit Reports & ID Theft Protection
On Sept. 19, Key Bank <key.com> announced a new fee-based identity theft and credit bureau monitoring program powered by Vertrue's Privacy Matters service. It's the first major U.S. bank to market a comprehensive service through its website. Most major card issuers have been selling similar services via statement insert and direct mail for years. Price: $14.95/mo ($180/yr) for a couple or $9.95/month ($120/yr) for a single Key's presents the benefits in four groups: 1. Prevention Firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware software Free personal document shredder 2. Detection 24-hour credit monitoring Weekly email fraud alerts credit bureau changes occur Three-bureau credit report 3. Protection Emergency funds transferred to your credit card if the account is frozen or your card is stolen, with approved credit $25,000 of insurance against losses 4. Restoration Professional investigator to help restore your identity and credit record Credit card registration AnalysisI believe the area of credit bureau monitoring…

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