What makes this unique is that we have the ability to do a wide range of interactivity.
Earlier this week, Financial Town launched the banking industry’s first interactive mobile video solution, BankOn Video. BankOn Video allows financial institutions to communicate face-to-face with their customers via mobile devices. “BankOn gives customers the ability to see and talk to a service representative and the service representative can see and talk to the customer,” says Gene Pranger, Financial Town CEO.
Pranger pioneered mobile banking with UGenius in 2008 and he expects to transform the industry again with BankOn. “What makes this unique is that we have the ability to do a wide range of interactivity,” says Pranger. With BankOn, service representatives can educate consumers by sending slides and forms. Customers can deposit checks during a video chat, upload documents, and sign documents as well.
Pranger explains that there are three main channels through which BankOn can be utilized. The first channel is customers communicating with service representatives on their mobile devices. The second channel is customers communicating with specific financial advisors through an ipad at a branch. Not all advisors can be in the same branch of a financial institution at the same time, but customers can use BankOn on the iPad at their nearest branch to reach any advisor at any time. The third channel is peer-to-peer communication, namely financial institution employees communicating with one another using BankOn.
“What type of relationship do you have with your financial institution?” Pranger asks. “When you need a new car or a new house who are you going to turn to? Who are you going to ask for that relationship?” My answers to these questions are “a rocky one” and “Google,” respectively. I’ve never ended a phone call with my bank service representative and thought, “Well that was brief, easy, and helpful.” More often than not, I’m inclined to throw my phone at the wall twenty-seven minutes into the soft-rock hold music. Then when, or if, rather, I am finally connected to a human, I am transferred to another department 100% of the time. So when Pranger asks, “What if you had a customer service agent standing by, ready to communicate through your phone?” I am moved to tears by such a beautiful thought. “We provide the right type of solution when and where you need it,” Pranger says. Those solutions include chat support, message feeds, and the securest of connections in addition to the features already mentioned.
BankOn also offers comprehensive analytics features that provide financial institutions insight into their sales, customers, and staff. The software plugs directly into the backend of financial institutions’ existing systems, allowing those institutions to serve and sell to customers in a way that is transparent, social and convenient.
Pranger expects a large adoption of BankOn in the coming year. At only $100 per seat license per month, BankOn is an affordable solution that offers unprecedented customer service. Once Financial Town conquers the banking world, they plan to take their BankOn technology to other verticals such as legal, medical and hospitality. Verticals that, I dare say, are in desperate need of a service makeover. For now, we have Pranger to thank for the coming reduction in phone damages caused by frustrated customers throwing their devices at the wall.
Published 2/26/2016
