For credit card issuers, time is money. Lengthy, time-consuming application processes can discourage consumers from successfully completing applications, and that has a direct impact on the bottom line by driving up acquisition costs—which already average $200 per customer.

The competition for credit card customers is intense, and issuers are investing more than ever to acquire consumers. New credit card applications have declined by 40%, which means that competition for customers is stiff. That’s one reason that the largest issuers anticipate increasing their marketing spend by close to 35% as they seek to attract new customers.

Given the market landscape, issuers can’t afford to let slow customer service result in the loss of new business. Investments made early on in the customer relationship can help to drive lifetime value by creating a positive service experience. It can also lead to new business in the future when customers seek additional cards or services.

Staffing challenges have led to longer hold times, which have increased 34% and led to increasing dissatisfaction with the service provided by credit card issuers. Dixon M, McKenna T, de la O G, Supporting Customer Service Through the Coronavirus Crisis, Harvard Business Review, April 2020. While Many U.S. Credit Card Issuers Struggle to Meet Evolving Customer Expectations, Some Bright Spots Exist, J.D. Power FInds, J.D. Power press release, Aug. 2021.

Faster application processing and onboarding impact the customer experience – and the bottom line Reducing the time to onboard new customers by accelerating the time it takes for them to go from application and approval to actively using a credit card also reduces the time it takes to achieve customer profitability.

At the same time, while providing a satisfying customer experience is important, credit card issuers can’t sacrifice compliance with disclosure and disclaimer requirements—a necessary part of the application process. But contact center staffing shortages, exacerbated by an increase in agent attrition—according to Gallup, one-third of contact center agents were actively looking for a job in 2021—only contribute to customer service challenges for card issuers already competing to win a share of increasingly discerning consumers’ wallets. Staffing challenges have led to longer hold times, which have increased 34% and led to increasing dissatisfaction with the service provided by credit card issuers.

To compete in today’s environment, credit card issuers need to improve the customer experience by automating card applications and approvals while ensuring a consistent and compliant process.

Efficiently and cost effectively onboard and service credit card applicants

With the Gridspace Grace virtual agent, credit card issuers can more efficiently and cost effectively onboard and service credit card applicants through contact centers. Now bank contact centers have the ability to offer zero-minute hold times and personalized reminders to finish key tasks with a next-generation conversational voice bot that can handle customer interactions in a natural and friendly manner. The result? Grace gives customers a convenient, easy way to engage with credit card issuers while also ensuring adherence with compliance and regulatory requirements.

At the same time, while providing a satisfying customer experience is important, credit card issuers can’t sacrifice compliance with disclosure and disclaimer requirements—a necessary part of the application process.