Who hasn’t received a suspicious message asking them to click on some weird link to confirm their personal data? Fraud and data theft are the number one threat to financial institutions’ clients. The problem seems to be growing every day, despite the increasing number of security measures and awareness campaigns. However, regulated institutions are subject to strict rules and are obliged to keep up-to-date client data, or face severe penalties. This is where remediation comes in. These are procedures for bringing existing clients into compliance and verifying their identity. Given this context, and faced with increasingly wary clients, how can you outsource a remediation procedure to an expert partner?
Remediation, which involves collecting, updating, and auditing customer data and receipts, is a complicated exercise. Regulated companies find themselves torn between – justified – pressure from the regulator to keep up-to-date client data and clients who are nervous about data theft and scams. Add outsourced remediation services to the mix and the exercise becomes even more complex! In these conditions, it is crucial to reassure clients and provide them with all possible guarantees that your procedures are legitimate and their personal data will be protected. Three tips from Guillaume Casterman, International Projects & Knowledge | KYC Director at Webhelp, to reassure your clients about your remediation activities:
1/ Communicate with your clients
The first step is information. Advance communication via the usual channels will allow you to present the process and explain why it is necessary and what form it will take. A seamless client experience allays fears of identity theft.
2/ Pay attention to the form
The next element is your brand. Whether by e-mail, post, or online portal, all your communications should respect your company’s visual identity. In particular, it is important to avoid spelling and grammar errors, inconsistent formatting and logos, inappropriate tone or writing style, and unsolicited attachments. Your brand itself remains a necessary element, if easily faked.
3/ Update your website
We recommend creating a dedicated remediation page on your official website, or even in the client portal. This step is key in reassuring clients that the exercise is trustworthy. Though modifying your website may require a lot of time and internal validation, for your clients, it is an irreplaceable guarantee. They should be easily able to find information on your remediation processes online, in case they have any doubts about the communication they have received.
In a world where fraud and phishing have become almost undetectable, while respecting your company’s visual identity is certainly essential, it isn’t enough to reassure your increasingly distrustful clients (who certainly have their reasons). Therefore, the best way to reassure your clients and thus increase the success rate of your remediation procedures is to inform them in advance and pay close attention to communications at every step of the process.
As remediation procedures can be perceived as intrusive, another challenge is to minimise the impact on the client experience and avoid damaging your company’s image. This is why it may be worth outsourcing remediation activities to an expert whose approach combines technology, expertise, and human resources and who can nurture the client relationships that are at the very heart of what you do.
To learn more: [Banking, Insurance, FinTech] KYC Remediation: how to outsource without sacrificing customer experience]
